the greeks read kane chronicles
by nancy McCann
Summary: Fates and Egyptian gods have decided to combine their forces by conducting a reading session with Greek gods, demigods ,Egyptian gods and magicians.
1. CHAP 1 INTRODUCTION PART ONE

**A/N this is my first fanfiction so don't mind if you don't like it.**

 **Also I only own this story and not any of rick Riordan 's characters.**

 **Lastly kane chronicles and percy jackson crossover, trials of apollo and Magnus Chase and gods of Asgard did not happen.**

 **Happy reading and give as much review as possible!**

\--

 _ **INTRODUCTION PART 1**_

 _ **Brooklyn house (21st nome),New york**_

 _ **sadie's pov**_

( **A/N n** **o I am not doing** **her British accent** )Today turned out to be very interesting day. As you know after the great sun- eating snake named aphopis was defeated everything went back to normal ,and fyi the definition of normal at brooklyn house is ankle biters painting the statue of throth in multicolour , felix bringing a mini Antarctica in middle of summer and our other innitiates trying not to destroy the house while practising magic(punishment for that is no dessert for a week) and doing their summer holiday homework. So in short it was a set's favourite pastime chaos .

Now you would be asking where am I in midst of this . Well I was doing my own project which was to find whereabouts of a creative evil magician named Setne's ghost. I was in library trying out some searching spells along with my boyfriend Walt .

Suddenly a bright light engulfed both of us causing us to closed our eyes . When I opened my eyes I found myself in a very strange place .I pulled my wand and staff out of duat and took a defense position .Out of corner of my eyes I saw Walt doing the same. We waited for something to happen.

My gut feeling was that I should not be here. There were 18 kids, two of them seemed very similar. And is that one half donkey?, a very peculiar pony man and are those giants ? This place is strange, really really strange.

 _ **Cairo (1st nome),Egypt**_

 _ **Carter's pov**_

Yep as Sadie summerised today can be written as strangest of days in histroy of strange day right next to the one when supreme god Ra was singing nursery songs and trying to eat sadie's doorknob and yes also when my girlfriend turned into an old man . **(A/N in the serpent' s shadow)** Now you would be asking why I am comparing today with those days? When one of your oldest enemy comes to you to ask for alliances and to seal it you have a book reading session with them. Who does that? it is literally ridiculous.

But what can I say we are in a weird world. Ok I should start from the beginning. You see an evil psychopath ghost is on loose ,whose name you might have guessed is Setne . And I was in the first nome discussing our next steps with Uncle Amos and my girlfriend Zia _yey! I love to state we have been dating for almost an year and half._

When I saw one of our newest initiates running towards us. **(A/N yes 1st nome gained some new innitiates duh!)** He says to me"Sir there is some woman waiting for you ," At this Zia glares at me in suspicion . I raise my hands in truce and says" He said 'Woman',and I am still a teenager". She blinks and turns away while Uncle laughs. The boy continues "She said her name is Bast. Isn't there a goddess having similar name. Should I allow her to come in?"

By the time he finished we were all gaping in shock. Bast here! Were gods not pushed back in duat when Aphopis left. All I could do was nod my head as a sign to let her enter.

He takes leave and few minutes later Bast comes it . She hasn't changed a bit from the last time I have seen her . But what should I expect from her after all she is goddess. Back to topic as soon as she entered I started my twenty questions round "Bast! What are you doing here? I thought gods were no longer allowed to interfere directly ? Is there any problem any other enemy as powerful as Aphopis rising? ",at this I shudder , " Because we still have not found Setne . Is it about him? Has he caused any more trouble down there that you have to ask for help? Because--"

At this Bast cut me off with a laugh . "Carter breathe , seems like Sadie is affecting you ",at this I scowl at her and say" Answer those questions Bast we have to catch a wanted ghost ".At this she say ,"Why Carter you didn't miss me?"

My face softens up," Of course We missed you especially Sadie but right now my first priority is Setne as he is in his destructive mode . So forgive me if my words hurt you. ""No ,it is fine . I was just teasing you . And to answer your questions. I have come for an important work. No there is no enemy or any problems down there. Geez can't a cat comes to just meet her kittens. And yes I have come to talk about Setne only. As you might know after Egyptians came Greek and Romans who defeated us and took our place . What you don't know is that Greek and Roman Gods are as real as us."At this I could only gawk at her and trying to process it all.

 _So there are other gods and maybe even other mortals related to them. Weren't there stories of them siring children with mortals.Are there greek monsters too._ "I know what you are thinking . Yes there are mortal kids of gods, technically they are called demigods or half-blood and they have monsters too. That is why you are prohibited to go in Manhattan. But you see yesterday fates , they are three old women who decide the fate of gods as well as demigods as name suggested, came to us and gave a proposal to combine both forces to avoid future conflicts. Also if we join hands we would get more hands to help in search of Setne and he could not even ignite enmity between us as party on both sides will know about his plan. So what do you think should we agree? As you are the Pharoah so you are the one to decide.",She finished.

By the time she ended I was a bit confused ." This proposal sounds very good. Ages long enmity turning into friendship. A good I idea indeed" Zia said."But it will only work if implied properly . On mistake and it would be similar to having world war 3"Uncle said apprehensively.

In the end I decided to take the dangerous path. Hey what do you expect from us Kanes. We always try to take hard way no matter what. I nodded my head in agagreement to the idea and said " Fine lets see where this road takes us to. So... what do we have to do to tell we agree to there conditions?""Oh nothing , you just have to attend a reading session of books of your adventures on summer solstice ,which by the way is today, to show them that you are no different than them.

Submitting to my fate I asked "What about Sadie and Walt ? Shouldn't they also be there. " "Don't worry about them. They will be brought there to.""Ok one last question why summer solstice?Why not any other day " "Huh oh I forgot to mention that summer and winter solstice is the day when the council of Olympus comes together to discuss and the demigods are also invited.

Usually they chat about stupid things and the fates were getting rather tired listening to those nonsense. They thought it to be a good idea to read the books on that day for a change." Suddenly a portal appeared in front of us. We stepped into it to reach the place of doom.My last thought was _what kind of 'usless' talk they would do as gods is Batman better or Superman._

 _ **600th floor,Empire State Building (Olympus),Manhattan**_

 _ **Percy 's pov**_

 _"Batman is better than Superman. "_

 _"Air disasters are better than water disaster. "_

 _"Stop pestering me you, cereal women"_

 _"When will the day come when you will stop sleeping with other women."_

 _"Stop fliting with my huntresses."_

 _"As you wish ,baby sis."_

 _"And for the umpteenth time I am older than you."_

 _"I won Athens fair and square fish face!"_

 **(My favourite one!)**

As you guessed we were attending the summer solstice council meeting but everything was happening other than meeting. Gods fighting like 5 year olds,Travis and Conner planning their next prank while Katie keep eyeing them, Annabeth reading a book , Thalia snoring, Nico,Hazel, Frank and Reyna were dicussing something related to funerals, Drew trying to flirt with Jason who in return was avoiding her and talking to Leo and Piper. On the other hand Grover was listening to Lord Hermes who was telling him more about his duties as Lord of the wild. Clarisse with her dad was egging them to fight with chris trying to divert her attention.Lacy was checking her nail colour.( _insert eye roll here._ ) Chiron was keeping one eye on gods and another on us. And me I was sitting near the hearth happily chatting away with my favourite goddess Hestia.

Suddenly fates appeared in middle of the room cutting everyone. We all stood up . Clotho said "Hello Demigods and Gods, You see we got bored with you useless banter and have decided that you need a plan to ensure no future war occur--"But she was cut off by Uncle Zeus who thundered,"Who will even dare to pick up fight with us? Don't they know that we are the stongest parthogen to have survived a whole millennium. "Clotho wrinkles her nose irritated to be cut off and says"You know as well as I do that there are other parthogens too who survived ."

Murmurs about other parthogen part starts around us. Lady Athena says"Are you talking about the Egyptians?"Lachesis says"Yes we are talking about them only." Then she turns to us and says "You see heroes there are not only Greeks and Romans gods but also Egyptian too. After Cleopatra' s death the last queen of Egypt, they went underground ,due to some reasons ,and worked from there only. Once a very stong parthogen became weaker with time even though they exist world wide. But recently they have grown stronger trying to regain its former glory.""Ok why did they become weak? And what happened recently?"Wise girl asked.

Atropos answers her," In last few years a lot happened but for you to know one of Egyptians oldest enemy was defeated .And the answer of your questions are given in the books."At that Everyone looks interested, "And noticing there strength we decided it is time to create friendship between us and them.This will increase our stength as well as avoid any future war."

Lachesis continues "So we have decided to invite them here and read a few books on the adventures of their heroes. "At this everyone except Athena and Annabeth groaned. Don't get me wrong I totally love the idea of befriending another parthogen and especially avoiding war but being an ADHDand dyslexic i can't read to save my life.

Clotho ends the conversation by saying "Oh by the way they will be here any minute."

And next minute a kind of door appears to their left and in comes 8 people. Two of them were women and 6 men. One woman has multicoloured wings with matching eyes. Other women had kind blue eyes and walked like flowing water. The next man seemed to be flickering between 2 people one time his skin was dark brown another time blue. Fourth was even strange looking with 2 coloured eyes silver and gold . He held himself like a king no doubt king of some kind. Next one was an old man with a light glow around him and eyes orange in colour. Sixth looked like a crazy scientist with einstein hair and held 3 books.Seventh one had an aura of evilness around him.Lastly was a small guy kind of dwarf with mishap face like some had hit him on face with a hot frying pan multiple times. It was clear that they were gods from power they radiated.

Wise girl seemed to be in a deep thought supposedly trying to recall them . Uncle Zeus shook hands with the the 2 coloured eyes one signifying him to be king of Egyptian gods. Clotho waved her hand and different thrones appeared. The goddess with multicoloured wings said "There are few more people coming please wait for them before we all start introductions. "

So we waited and another door appeared, similar to the last one, came out 4 people two kids and two middle aged people one man another woman. The women was wearing a jumpsuit and also radiated power like the ones who came earlier claiming her to be a goddess. The man had a cape on his back that looked like lion 's skin. He had dark skin colour . His facial features matched the boy 's. The teenager boy was around sixteen year old looked quite muscular ,like he practised alot, and held himself as a leader. He was wearing linen clothes like a ninja and was holding hands with the girl . _oh no Lady Aphrodite is so going to love this session._ The girl had mocha coloured skin and looked pretty intimidating in her camouflage dress.

Lady Hestia summoned another throne for the goddess and a sofa for the other three. Lady Athena said,"Now that everyone has arrived.."She got cutoff by the boy who said," But what about sadie and Walt?"

Immediately a bright light appeared and vanished leaving in it wake two more teenagers.They saw us but ,didnot notice the Egyptians,and took out two stick from thin air and got in defense position which I thought it to be funny and looked around. Everyone seemed confused trying not to laugh except Lacy and Drew ,who looked like they have seen a ghost.


	2. CHAP 2 INTRODUCTION PART TWO

**A/N Second chapter yay ! Sorry if you dont like my language. Its not exactly my strongest suit . Hope you like it.**

\--

 _ **INTRODUCTION PART**_ _ **TWO**_

 _ **Nico's**_ _ **pov**_

( _ **A/N Nico is not gay)**_

These guys are totally funny. Ok first they take out a boomerang from thin air and now they are holding it in front of them as if it will protect them. It seems others were also thinking same line of thought that many of us bust into laughter.The Greek gods also seem to think it funny and tries to hide their smiles. This seems to annoy the girl even more that suddenly a beam of light comes out of the boomerang straight towards Travis and Conner,silencing us. We turn around to look see what happen only to notice where Travis and Conner sitting there are two not so happy duckling. _That. Was. So. Cool._ The girl states happily, "Anyone else wishes to turn into a duckling are happy to make fun of us." We greeks could only stare at her open mouthed. _Damn it. If she was not wearing karate style clothing anybody would have mistaken her as a huntress._ "And close your mouth otherwise I will make one of you a bug and feed it to others." At her predicament we closed our mouth. Lady Artemis and Thalia exchange looks that says _Another huntress ._ That was when the boy who had cutoff Lady Athena jumps from his seat and comes closer to her. When she sees him she asks "What are you doing here?Is it any other prank of yours."He starts whispering something to them ,most probably explaining the situation and her expression changes from wary to understanding .Then she turns towards us and says "I apologise for my deed. I didn't knew about this proposition. If I had known I would have turned them in a less embaressing thing like a fruit bat."At this the other boy hides a smile. "Okay back to topic" She again mutter something and a beam again hits Duckling-Travis and Conner and they become their regular self. You know what this is a pure blackmail material. _Hehe._ "Take it as a gift from me . Now can we just start reading .

 _ **Nobody's pov**_

"No we can't because there is one more person to come. By that time please take your seat. "Clotho says and produces a love seat for Sadie and walt next to the sofa. And they wait a few minutes later a ghost appear in middle of room. She was ghost of Ruby Kane. When Kane siblings notice her they run towards her . Ruby says "I was invited by the fates to rwad about you adventures and how could I resist this chance ,so here I am." Excited they bring her towards the 4 seater sofa. Julius simply smiles looking at his wife and kids. Lord Zeus clears his throat and says "If everyone has settled let's start with introduction.Starting with Greeks. "

The Egyptian gods open their mouth to protest only to get a sharp glare from Carter which clearly stated _leave it be ._

The fates say "Now many of you may not know us , we are the Moirai or as others calls us the fates. We are the incarnations of destiny and life."First one says,"I am Clotho, and I am the one who spins the thread of life."Middle one says,"I am Lachesis, And I am the one who draws the lots and determines how long one lives, by measuring the thread of life."Last one says,"I am Atropos, the one who chose how someone dies by cutting the thread of life with my shears."

Silence fills the room as the young Magicians ( A/N i am going to call Carter ,Sadie ,Walt and Zia young Magicians)gulp loudly taking in the seriousness of the situation.

Then Lord Zeus thunders"I am Zeus ,king of Gods",at this Horus sends him a look,"ahm I mean king of Greek gods, and God of the Sky, Thunderstorms, Lightning, Air, Winds, Clouds, Weather, Law, Justice and Honour.My roman name is Jupiter."

"I am Hera queen of Greek gods and goddess of Childbirth, Women, Home life, Royalty, Marriage and the heavens.My roman name is Juno."

"I am Dementer ,greek goddess of Agriculture, Fertility, the Seasons, Nature. My roman form is called Ceres."

"I am Athena, greek goddess of War, Wisdom, Crafts, Battle Strategies."Then she makes a face and says"My roman form is Minerva"

" I am Aphrodite and I am greek goddess of Love, Beauty and Lust. So if anyone wishes for help please don't be shy to come to me.Oh and I am called as Venus in romans."Then she winks at Sadie .

"I am Artemis, and I am greek goddess of The Hunt, Wilderness, Wild Animals, Virginity, The Moon, Delivery.My roman form is Diana. And I would really like to talk to you in break.",she says looking at Sadie. Behind her back Carter , Zia and Walt share a wary look.

"Now in continuation myself Apollo, greek god of music, intelligence, civilization, truth, logic, reason, prophecy, purification, poetry, plague, oracles, sun, healing, archery, light, and medicine. And yes I have same name in rome."He then bows dramatically.

Hermes rolls his eyes and says "And Myself Hermes ,I am greek god of Thievery, Messengers, Roads, Merchants, Travel, Astrology, Astronomy, Trade, Athletics, Cunning Wiles, Language, Writing, Persuasion, Invention, Hospitality, Athletes, Commerce, Boundaries, Transitions, Diplomacy. My roman name is Mercury. "He ends smugly

Ares snots loudly and says "Oh ya listen I am Ares ,god of Murder, Cannibals, Violence, War, and Bloodlust.And I am roman god Mars. Hah Now say"

Dionysus yawns and says"My name is Dionysus and I am greek god of Wine, theater, ecstasy, fertility and madness. Any questions?And yes I am called Bacchus in rome. "

Hephaestus who was quiet till the says ,"I am Hephaestus greek god of Technology, Blacksmiths, Craftsmen, Artisans, Sculptors, Metals, Metallurgy, Fire and Volcanos. My roman form is Vulcan ."

Poseidon says " My self Poseidon,I am Greek king of seas god of Oceans, Water, Earthquakes, and Islands.And I am known as Neptune in between romans."

"I am Hades ,greek king of underwold god of the dead, riches, misery and fear. And my roman name is Pluto."

"And I am Hestia greek goddess of Home, hearth, family and fire.My roman form is Vesta.And I welcome you all to Olympus the city of gods."She ends with smile.

The Horus begins"I am Horus, Pharoah of Egyptian gods, god of sky and war, protector and patron pharoah and youth."

"Myself Isis,Egyptian queen of gods , Mother of Horus, goddess of motherhood, magic ,marriage, healing ,protection and wisedom"

" I am Osiris in a host ,about whom you will find in the books, King and God of underworld and afterlife."

"I am Set ,god of chaos ,deserts,storms and foreigner."

"I am Nephthys ,goddess of death, mourner, rivers protection and childbirth.And I would also like to thank you for your warm welcome ."She ends with a smile.

"I am Thoth ,Scribe God of Knowledge, theMoon, Measurement, Wisdom, the Alphabet, Djeru, Records, Thought, Intelligence, Meditation, the Mind, Logic, Reason, Reading,Hieroglyphic , Magic, Secrets, Scribes, andWriting."He says and all of it in one breath.

"I am Bes, god of dwarfs."

"And I am Bast, cat goddess and protector of pregnant women and children and third eye of Ra."

"Lastly ,I am Ra,first God and pharoah of Egypt, God of sun and creation. "

Now everyone tirn to look at the demigods and Magicians.Carter says looking at the demigods "Lets follow the sequence from earlier and you start ."At this the demigods nod their heads.

Chiron starts"Myself Chiron, and I am teacher of demigods. "

At this the young magicians bow their head in respect.Which pleases chiron and demigods while most gods fumes in jealousy. Looking at this Julius, Hestia, Nephthys,Bast and Bes hide a smile.

"Myself Jason, Son of Jupiter, Pontifex Maximus and One of The Seven"

Carter asks "What is 'The Seven'. Is it some kind of group."

Before Athena or Annabeth could answer Clotho says"There was a prophecy which stated that seven demigods will save the earth from Earth a primordial goddess Gaea..."

"Hold on , What is Demigod? And who is Gaea?Why.."Sadie is cut off by Carter who says "Sadie don't cutoff the fates and demigods are children of mortal and greek gods ."At this Sadie shudders and turns green."And to answer your second question Gaea is primordial goddess of Earth. _Don't_ . _give_ . _that._ _look_. It is a story that says Gaea was unhappy with her husband Uranus because he threw their first born the cyclops and what was that name hecte..ya Hecatoncheires in a dark pit . So to avenge she asked their another set of Children the Titans to defeat their father . Titans defeated him . They got defeated by the present gods etc. No need to go into details because I know you are yawning behind my back Sadie."At this Sadie blushes and stick her tongue out."So at Gods victory ,she become an unhappy grandma and set another race of monsters called giant after gods..""Again take there a speed breaker, if there is a race called giants in greek then what are gods called lillput?"

At her comment everyone except the greek gods and Carter were laughing. Carter simply smiles ,shakes his head and says "Sadie they were said to be as big as mountains and could lift one to two mountains with bare hands.Now enough of it for now lets continue with the introduction. Otherwise we won't be able to complete the books in time.""Oh you don't have to worry about time . We have decided that until the books are completed you all will stay here in Olympus for easier interactions between the parthogens.""Oh then we have to inform jaz ,cleo and others about it before they turn the entire house upside down literally."Sadie says to Carter. He replies"We will talk about it later for now focus on this meeting."

"Ok my turn ,I am piper ,daughter of Aphrodite, one of the seven and charm speaker. "After few minutes when no one speaks she turn to Sadie and ask "You don't have any question like what is a chrm speaker.""Nah, not really. Because I know if I ask my dorky brother or another dork from your side will give another lengthy explanation . And I don't think I or the people in this gathering can handle even one if them. And by the way if we are going to stay here you could always tell me about it your way and here I am assuming you as not a carter. "By the time she ends her rant Athena , Annabeth,Julius,Throth and Carter are glaring at her while others are smiling gratefully. Leo shouts "Thank god ,some one has sense in this gathering."

At this the glares were turned towards him. "Continuing on myself Leo Valdez, Son of Hephaestus,fire user, Captain and commander ""repair boy"" of Agro 2 , and one of the seven"He ends glaring at Piper.

"Ahem,So myself Hazel Levesque, daughter of pluto, Centurion of fifth cohort, one of the seven."

"I am Annabeth Chase, Daughter of Athena, Architect of Olympus, One of the Seven and Heroine of Olympus"

"And I am Percy Jackson, Son of Poisedon, One of the seven and Hero of Olympus. Oh and by the way I am also boyfriend of Annabeth. "

"I am Frank Zhang,Son of Mars,Shape shifter ,preator of camp jupiter ,and one of the seven."

Before Carter could open his mouth to ask something this time Zia clamps her hand to his mouth and says "Before he emits another question and further delay the session please continue."He simply huffs.

"Myself Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano , daughter of Bellona, a Roman Goddess of War and preator of camp jupiter."

" Myself Thalia grace, Sister of Jason grace, lieutenant of the hunters of Artemis and heroine of Olympus. "She says eyeing Zia and Sadie.Walt and Carter exchange glances and shift closer to their respective girlfriends.

"Myself Nico di Angelo, Son of Hades , Half-brother of Hazel ,Ghost king, Shadow traveller and hero of Olympus." Sadie smiles at him. Surprised he smiles back making Walt jealous and Carter and Julius suspicious.

"My name is Grover and I am a satyr. I am lord of the wild."He ends with a sad smile.

"On a more cheerful note I am Travis"

"And I am Conner "

"Sons of Hermes and Official pranksters"

They end in synch. Hermes gives them a thumbs up sign.

"And I am Katie ,Daughter of Demeter and If you ever troubled by these idiots just say and I will cover them with rose bushes."At this everyone laughes and give her thumbs up sign while sons of Hermes stuck their tongue out.

"I am clarisse La rue ,Daughter of Ares, drakon slayer and heroine of Olympus. "

"And I am Chris Rodriguez, son of Hermes ".He ends only to recieve a glare form Percy. He rolls his eyes and add "And hero of Olympus. Happy!"

"Myself Drew Tanaka, I am daughter of Aphrodite and a charmspeaker. "Listening this Sadie and Walt both jumps on their feet only to be pulled back by Carter who scold "If I am not allowed to interrupt their introduction then you are also not allowed the same. "

Then Lacy says in a small voice"My name is Lacy and I am a daughter of Aphrodite. "All Carter, Sadie and Walt could do is stare at her which causes Zita to glare and others look at them in confusion. After few minutes Carter gains his speech and asks" Weren't you the girl from Brooklyn academy of gifted who danced with me before mass blackout session occured".Sadie could only shake her head in affirmative while Zia's glare deepens and Lacy blushes. Then she realise something and says "Wait a minute so you were behind the gas explosion?"Now it was Sadie's turn to become red. "Ok, here is a question. Who was the boy who was dancing with you that night? "This was Drew. "Wait you also go to bag "Carter asks. Walt replies ,

"Yes she and her goons are called plastic bags ."Then he turns to Drew and says "Why it was only me Drew. Didn't you remember Walt? "He answers with a smirk. Other Egyptian only snort knowing the real meaning behind his words.

"Can someone tell me what the Hades are you talking about? "Asks Piper. "Don't worry umm, Piper right "At this she nods her head,"Everything is given in the books in a very detailed version. "Piper exclaims "So what are we waiting for?""Don't you want to know about whom we are going to read about "Percy says and turns to Magicians and says "Your turn".

Zia says, "OK let me start, I am Zia Rashid, I am specialized in Fire magic and and was Eye and host of Ra. Don't ask what is eye or host here because everything is given in the book. And also I am Carter's girlfriend."She ends looking at Lacy. Lacy blushes and turns away.

"Ahem, Myself Ruby Kane, Well actually I am a ghost ,So was a diviner and am Mother of Sadie and Carter. "She ends proudly making aforementioned to blush.

"Continuing On, I am Walt Stone, a sau or in English a charmmaker and I am host and Eye of Anubis God of funerals. And also boyfriend of Sadie Kane. "He says looking at Thalia and Lady Artemis. Both of them huff and were going to comment when Sadie continues "I am Sadie Kane . My specialty is in spells, portions and hieroglyphs and I was host and Eye of Isis."

"My name is Amos Kane and I am Chief Lector of the House of Life . I am uncle of Sadie and Carter. "He states proudly"Also was once a host and Eye of Set about which I assure you I am not proud of. "He end with a sour face.

"And I am Carter Kane, A combat magician . I was host and eye of Horus and also I am The Pharaoh of House of life. " By the time he ends his speech the demigods and the Greek gods had their jaws on the floor. Athena thought _Egyptians have a new pharaoh. Something real big must have happened. He seems very strong leader._ She clears her throat and said"Moving on let's start the reading. Throth passes the first book to her

 **The Kane Chronicles** **-The Red Pyramid "**


	3. Author's note

_**Sorry guys, My semester ends are near, so I could only my next chapter after it ends. Really sorry for the delays.**_


	4. CHAP 3:A DEATH AT THE NEEDLE PART 1

**A/N Sorry for the delay. I was having exams. No worries, this is chapter 3.**

\--

 **CHAPTER 3 A** **DEATH AT THE NEEDLE** _**part**_ _**1**_

 _ **Nobody's pov**_

Athena reads

 **Chapter 1. A Death at the Needle**

Nico sarcastically says "Talk about a depressing start of story"."Yup because Carter started the recording." Sadie retorts which causes Carter to glare at her.

 **WE ONLY HAVE A FEW HOURS, so listen carefully.**

 **If you're hearing this story, you're already in danger. Sadie and I might be your only chance**

"Oh ,that was not true. There were choices.First Nome would not have eaten you"Zia says . "Still you can say they were best of the choices otherwise we would not have been alive today. "Walt retorts. By the time he ended to all the demigods and Greek gods were gaping while Sadie and Carter were bright red.

 **Go to the school. Find the locker. I won't tell you which school or which locker, because if you're the right person, you'll find it. The combination is 13/32/33.**

You know giving half baked information to others can land them in even more trouble. "Annabeth states. Walt answers"It is not a "half baked answer". Actually the locker is placed where only magicians like us can only reach. "This intrigues Annabeth while Apollo, Hermes and his sons slump down in their seats demotivated that they cannot steal the items in the locker.

 **By the time you finish listening, you'll know what those numbers mean. Just remember the story we're about to tell you isn't complete yet. How it ends will depend on you.**

"Apollo says dramatically "No pressure".

 **The most important thing: when you open the package and find what's inside, don't keep it longer than a week.**

Why? " Zeus asks

 **Sure, it'll be tempting. I mean, it will grant you almost unlimited power.**

At this Thalia's and Zeus's eyes gleams.

 **But if you possess it too long, it will consume you.**

At this the gleam disappears as the slump back in their seats. Percy whispers to Nico and Jason"Like Father, like daughter. " They tries not to laugh only to get zapped by Thalia who only smirks at them.

 **Hide it for the next person, the way Sadie and I did for you.**

"Smart move." Osiris nods his head in approval making Kane siblings to blush again at the open praise given to them by their father and Athena to look at them suspiciously.

 **Then be prepared for your life to get very interesting.**

"That is one way to describe it. " Walt snorts.

 **Okay, Sadie is telling me to stop stalling and get on with the story.**

"Thank you Sadie. " The Greek gods and demigods sang loudly making earning a glare from Carter.

 **Fine. I guess it started in London, the night our dad blew up the British Museum.**

"Awsome" Ares hooted while Athena frowned. "That was not meant literally right?"

 **My name is Carter Kane .**

Hello book Carter" Travis jokes earning glare from almost everyone.

 **I'm fourteen and my home is a suitcase.**

 **You think I'm kidding?**

At this most of demigods shake their heads. "We live like that whenever we go to quests"Percy answers to the questioning glances given by Egyptians.

 **Since I was eight years old, my dad and I have traveled the world.**

"That. Is. So. Cool. "Annabeth says dreamily. Carter shifts nervously in his seat " It was not in our case. "

 **I was born in L.A. but my dad's an archaeologist, so his work takes him all over. Mostly we go to Egypt, since that's his specialty. Go into a bookstore, find a book about Egypt, there's a pretty good chance it was written by Dr. Julius Kane.**

"Hold on, your father was the famous Egytologist Dr. Julius Kane."Annabeth and Athena exclaims. "Yup",Sadie and

Carter says proudly making Osiris blush.

"Why is he not here. I always wanted to meet him." Annabeth stated. "Oh trust me he is here. You will find about him in further chapters. "Sadie says.

 **You want to know how Egyptians pulled the brains out of mummies, or built the pyramids, or cursed King Tut's tomb?**

"nope, nope and definitely nope",Walt says hiding a smile.Carter pats his shoulder while other looks at him weirdly.

"I have knowledge for all of them and even experienced the last one. "He simply answers.

 **My dad is your man. Of course, there are other reasons my dad moved around so much, but I didn't know his secret back then.**

"You make it sound like he is a fugitive not an archaeologist. " Piper stated. "Trust me he was much more than a fugitive then."Zia said.

 **I didn't go to school. My dad homeschooled me, if you can call it "home" schooling when you don't have a home .**

"Theoretically it should be called on-road schooling " Hermes said with mock seriousness.

 **He sort of taught me whatever he thought was important, so I learned a lot about Egypt and basketball stats and my dad's favorite musicians. I read a lot, too—pretty much anything I could get my hands on, from dad's history books to fantasy novels—because I spent a lot of time sitting around in hotels and airports and dig sites in foreign countries where I didn't know anybody. My dad was always telling me to put the book down and play some ball. You ever try to start a game of pick-up basketball in Aswan, Egypt? It's not easy.**

"Why is it not easy?" Hestia asks. "Well mostly because I didn't know their language and also it was quite hot and humid place." Carter replies.

 **Anyway, my dad trained me early to keep all my possessions in a single suitcase that fits in an airplane's overhead compartment. My dad packed the same way, except he was allowed an extra workbag for his archaeology tools. Rule number one: I was not allowed to look in his workbag.**

"Let me guess you never broke that rule?" Zia asked him.

 **That's a rule I never broke until the day of the explosion.**

At this Zia blushes while Hermes and his sons, Apollo, Percy, Thalia and Nico shouted in a sync "You never broke that rule? How are you even alive? " While Ares and Clarisse shouts " AN EXPLOSION , AWSOME ! "

Carter blushes at first comment while other magicians raises their eyebrow on second one. Carter simply rubs his forehead and murmurs"And here I thought only Horus has that defect",making people sitting near him to hide their smile.

 **It happened on Christmas Eve. We were in London for visitation day with my sister, Sadie.**

 **See, Dad's only allowed two days a year with her—one in the winter, one in the summer—because our grandparents hate him.**

" We know how it feels to see your parent only once or twice an year" The demigods bar Nico said sadly. To this Sadie replies with a sad smile"No worries. I don't have a problem now. Everything happens for a reason. I guess." "Wow Sadie I didn't knew you could be so thoughtful." Carter replies with mock astonishment earning laughter from everyone and a hard punch from his own sister.

 **After our mom died, her parents (our grandparents) had this big court battle with Dad. After six lawyers, two fistfights, and a near fatal attack with a spatula**

"Don't even dare to ask "Carter replies to all the questioning glances. While Ruby becomes sad to see her family breaking like this.

 **(don't ask), they won the right to keep Sadie with them in England. She was only six, two years younger than me, and they couldn't keep us both—at least that was their excuse for not taking me. So Sadie was raised as a British schoolkid, and I traveled around with my dad. We only saw Sadie twice a year, which was fine with me.**

"It was fine with you that you see me ,your only sister, only twice an year. I take that as an insult to my pride because I state that I am a very lovable person. " Sadie declared mockingly caused the room to be filled with a roar of laughter.

 **[Shut up, Sadie. Yes—I'm getting to that part.]**

"Wait a minute did you just shut me up ?" Sadie asks in disbelief."I thought you were listening to what we were recording that time."Carter asked her back . " Yes I was but then I got bored of you whining about Zia. " Sadie replies teasingly.At this Zia blushes and Carter scowls at his sister and murmurs something along the lines stupid sisters and feeding crocodiles." Moving on"Athena clears her throat.

 **So anyway, my dad and I had just flown into Heathrow after a couple of delays. It was a drizzly, cold afternoon. The whole taxi ride into the city, my dad seemed kind of nervous.**

Julius thinks with a frown _Am I that easy to read_ making other Kanes to hide their smile knowing what is going in his head.

 **Now, my dad is a big guy. You wouldn't think anything could make him nervous. He has dark brown skin like mine, piercing brown eyes, a bald head, and a goatee, so he looks like a buff evil scientist.**

"Buff evil scientist!!" Osiris shouts at Carter making all the greeks and romans to narrow their eyes suspiciously. Athena and Annabeth starts thinking hard. On detecting that he might have given himself away Osiris says in a calmer voice to Carter "I doubt your father would like that description. " Carter replies with a shrug"I was only saying it to explain the listeners of my dad's appearence."

 **That afternoon he wore his cashmere winter coat and his best brown suit, the one he used for public lectures. Usually he exudes so much confidence that he dominates any room he walks into, but sometimes—like that afternoon—I saw another side to him that I didn't really understand. He kept looking over his shoulder like we were being hunted.**

Yep 'hunted' is the exact word that happened to us that day. " Carter amends.

 **"Dad?" I said as we were getting off the A-40. "What's wrong?"**

 **"No sign of them," he muttered. Then he must've realized he'd spoken aloud, because he looked at me kind of startled. "Nothing, Carter. Everything's fine."**

 **Which bothered me because my dad's a terrible liar.**

So are you ,carter" Sadie says. "And you too Sadie" Carter counters her. "I personally believe ,from what I have known, none of the Kanes are good liars." Zia states firmly while all the Egyptians shake their head in agreement making the the Greeks **(A/N I am going to use Greeks for both greeks ang Romans.** to laugh in amusement.

 **I always knew when he was hiding something, but I also knew no amount of pestering would get the truth out of him.**

"And here my friends we find another family trait of Kanes which is stubborness"Zia comment causing another roar of laughter.

 **He was probably trying to protect me, though from what I didn't know. Sometimes I wondered if he had some dark secret in his past, some old enemy following him, maybe; but the idea seemed ridiculous. Dad was just an archaeologist.**

"I doubt I could be any farther than the truth." Carter commented gravely.

 **The other thing that troubled me: Dad was clutching his workbag. Usually when he does that, it means we're in danger. Like the time gunmen stormed our hotel in Cairo. I heard shots coming from the lobby and ran downstairs to check on my dad. By the time I got there, he was just calmly zipping up his workbag while three unconscious gunmen hung by their feet from the chandelier, their robes falling over their heads so you could see their boxer shorts. Dad claimed not to have witnessed anything, and in the end the police blamed a freak chandelier malfunction.**

Except Osiris ,Sadie,Carter and Walt who knew this incident ,everyone else fell in fits of laughter with "That was awsome" and " could you do that again" was heard all around the room. Someone even asked the colour of their boxer shorts. Once everyone was in control the reading began again.

 **Another time, we got caught in a riot in Paris. My dad found the nearest parked car, pushed me into the backseat, and told me to stay down. I pressed myself against the floorboards and kept my eyes shut tight. I could hear Dad in the driver's seat, rummaging in his bag, mumbling something to himself while the mob yelled and destroyed things outside. A few minutes later he told me it was safe to get up. Every other car on the block had been overturned and set on fire. Our car had been freshly washed and polished, and several twenty-euro notes had been tucked under the windshield wipers.**

"You did'nt even looked up. How could you do that?" All demigod boys and some immature gods *cough Apollo and Hermes cough* cried at Carter. While Annabeth said " You guys stories really rival ours . Seriously."

"Ahem. To answer your first question that is Carter to you. and second to the comment I would say I am more than happy to listen to your stories if they are as crazy as ours . At least I would know that there are people suffering with similar mental disorder as ours." Making demigods and magicians laugh while gods to scowl at them for calling them 'the mental disorders'.

 **Anyway, I'd come to respect the bag. It was our good luck charm. But when my dad kept it close, it meant we were going to need good luck.**

 **We drove through the city center, heading east toward my grandparents' flat. We passed the golden gates of Buckingham Palace, the big stone column in Trafalgar Square. London is a pretty cool place, but after you've traveled for so long, all cities start to blend together. Other kids I meet sometimes say, "Wow, you're so lucky you get to travel so much." But it's not like we spend our time sightseeing or have a lot of money to travel in style. We've stayed in some pretty rough places, and we hardly ever stay anywhere longer than a few days. Most of the time it feels like we're fugitives rather than tourists.**

"Still you are travelling " Annabeth says. "And that you were with dad" Sadie add silently. Carter and Julius looks at her to find her usually cheerful face a little sad and hesitates as not knowing what to say.

To release the tension in room Percy stated with mock seriousness " At least you get to bath everyday during your fugitive period." causing tension to release "And not have to ask a pink poodle for directions" Making everyone bar Annabeth and Grover to look at him in confusion. "What, oh come on I was talking about my first quest where we had to ask a pink poodle for direction and Annabeth , Grover and I became fugitives and a part of manhunt.My step father even put money on me which plan backfired in his face as I gave all the electronics from his shop as gift for all those who helped us. " By the time he finished most of the people were looking at him with amusement and sadie said when we take a break I am so going to ask more details of that quest.

 **I mean, you wouldn't think my dad's work was dangerous. He does lectures on topics like "Can Egyptian Magic Really Kill You?" and "Favorite Punishments in the Egyptian Underworld" and other stuff most people wouldn't care about.**

"To answer the above questions first is yes Egyptian magic can really kill you and second is I love the part of 'feeding your heart to a monster' punishment of our underworld" Bast replied. "Wait there is a punishment to feed the heart to a monster . That is so cool. Why don't we have one in ours." Nico cried to Hades who after much thought nodded his head and said " That is a pretty good way to puninsh. I am going to add it as soon as we return back. " And then he materialised a notebook and pen to write them.

 **But like I said, there's that other side to him. He's always very cautious, checking every hotel room before he lets me walk into it. He'll dart into a museum to see some artifacts, take a few notes, and rush out again like he's afraid to be caught on the security cameras.**

 **One time when I was younger, we raced across the Charles de Gaulle airport to catch a last-minute flight, and Dad didn't relax until the plane was off the ground, I asked him point blank what he was running from, and he looked at me like I'd just pulled the pin out of a grenade.**

"I think your dad was overreacting Carter. We were not that much following him." Zia replies indignently.

"What you were stalking your boyfriend's father? Oh this is huge" Making Carter , Zia and , surprisingly for greeks, Osiris to blush.To relieve them of the torture Sadie said " No she was not stalking anyone. Dad was punished for some reasons you will find about it later and was given a punishment again about which you will find out in later . And many magicians like Zia and people you will know about later were instructed to make sure he followed the punishment. Understood ." At this everyone other than Athena and Annabeth shook their heads in negetive making Sadie sigh. " Oh come on read further and you will find it all out" Annabeth replied." You are saying as if you know the answers to the blanks" Piper said suspiciously. " Yes I do except the last one. But I would like it better to be revealed in the story."At this everyone accepted the answer and the reading began again.

 **For a second I was scared he might actually tell me the truth. Then he said, "Carter, it's nothing." As if "nothing" were the most terrible thing in the world.**

 **After that, I decided maybe it was better not to ask questions.**

"How could you decide not to ask questions ?" Throth looked at him disapprovingly.

 **My grandparents, the Fausts, live in a housing development near Canary Wharf, right on the banks of the River Thames. The taxi let us off at the curb, and my dad asked the driver to wait.**

 **We were halfway up the walk when Dad froze. He turned and looked behind us.**

 **"What?" I asked.**

 **Then I saw the man in the trench coat. He was across the street, leaning against a big dead tree. He was barrel shaped, with skin the color of roasted coffee.**

Amos looks at Carter and Sadie questioningly at _the barrel shape_ description. Carter and Sadie flushes at that look while other Egyptians try not to laugh at Amos while at the same time pray to anyone listening that they may be described by Carter in the story.

On the other hand Greeks look confused at the reactions and are thinking who could be that is decribed in the book. While Gods are even more weird out by the prayers of Egyptian gods.

 **His coat and black pinstriped suit looked expensive. He had long braided hair and wore a black fedora pulled down low over his dark round glasses. He reminded me of a jazz musician, the kind my dad would always drag me to see in concert.**

 **Even though I couldn't see his eyes, I got the impression he was watching us. He might've been an old friend or colleague of Dad's.**

"Ok spill out why are you being so weird. " Jason asks. "And who the hades is this person friend or foe?" Piper continued making Lord Hades frown."And why they are praying that Carter does not describe them in the book. " , Athena finished pointing at the Egyptian gods making Carter scowl at them.

"To answer your questions -" , Osiris began only to be cut off by his own daughter who said " No wait , first does anyone wishes to guess who the person is ?" , looking at Annabeth . Annbeth immediately said " I am 99 % sure it your uncle Amos sitting there who looks quite livid by that description ." "And I presume that you found that out not because of _barrel shape_ part. " "No I assure you I did not guess because of _that._ And to answer mom's question these gods are praying because as we can see Carter has to say it simply a weird way of describing people soo... You guy get it right." At this all greeks nod their head in understanding while Grover comments " His descriptive ways rival that of Percy's you know." Eliciting a"hey" from Percy making demigods nod their head and magician to laugh at their antics .

 **No matter where we went, Dad was always running into people he knew. But it did seem strange that the guy was waiting here, outside my grandparents'. And he didn't look happy.**

 **"Carter," my dad said, "go on ahead."**

 **"But—"**

 **"Get your sister. I'll meet you back at the taxi."**

 **He crossed the street toward the man in the trench coat, which left me with two choices: follow my dad and see what was going on, or do what I was told.**

 **I decided on the slightly less dangerous path. I went to retrieve my sister.**

"Wait I was less dangerous path" Sadie raised one eyebrow at Carter. " Now that I think about it should have said it as 'I decided to take more dangerous path as I am a dare devil.'" Making Sadie blush at his comment and punch him. Zia and Walt snickered at his comment.

 **Before I could even knock, Sadie opened the door.**

 **"Late as usual," she said.**

 **She was holding her cat, Muffin, who'd been a "going away" gift from Dad six years before.**

 _Oh not her please for sake of maat let him not describe her_ Bast thought with a frown making Zia, Walt , Sadie to control their laugh while Carter huffed indignantly.

 **Muffin never seemed to get older or bigger. She had fuzzy yellow-and-black fur like a miniature leopard, alert yellow eyes, and pointy ears that were too tall for her head. A silver Egyptian pendant dangled from her collar. She didn't look anything like a muffin, but Sadie had been little when she named her, so I guess you have to cut her some slack.**

 **Sadie hadn't changed much either since last summer.**

 **[As I'm recording this, she's standing next to me, glaring, so I'd better be careful how I describe her.]**

 **You would never guess she's my sister. First of all, she'd been living in England so long, she has a British accent. Second, she takes after our mom, who was white, so Sadie's skin is much lighter than mine. She has straight caramel-colored hair, not exactly blond but not brown, which she usually dyes with streaks of bright colors. That day it had red streaks down the left side. Her eyes are blue. I'm serious. Blue eyes, just like our mom's** **. She's only twelve, but she's exactly as tall as me, which is really annoying.**

Greeks notice that bar the british accent, age now that she was 14 ,height as Carter was almost a head taller than her and colour of the streak which was blue down her right side everything else was same as he described her in book.

 **She was chewing gum as usual, dressed for her day out with Dad in battered jeans, a leather jacket, and combat boots, like she was going to a concert and was hoping to stomp on some people. She had headphones dangling around her neck in case we bored her.**

 **[Okay, she didn't hit me, so I guess I did an okay job of describing her.]**

"No Carter you really think very high of me to think that I was even listening to you" Sadie replied mockingly. All other Magicians simply nodded their head knowing Sadie was the only person on Earth to never listen to Pharaoh.

 **"Our plane was late," I told her.**

 **She popped a bubble, rubbed Muffin's head, and tossed the cat inside. "Gran, going out!"**

 **From somewhere in the house, Grandma Faust said something I couldn't make out, probably "Don't let them in!"**

"Yep, unfotunately those were the exact words of gran" Sadie says sadly making Osiris and Ruby to frown.

 **Sadie closed the door and regarded me as if I were a dead mouse her cat had just dragged in. "So, here you are again."**

" Nope my muffin has better tastes." Sadie replies winking at Bast

 **"Yep."**

 **"Come on, then." She sighed. "Let's get on with it."**

 **That's the way she was. No "Hi, how you been the last six months? So glad to see you!" or anything. But that was okay with me. When you only see each other twice a year, it's like you're distant cousins rather than siblings. We had absolutely nothing in common except our parents.**

Zia said" I can happily assure you that - just as everyone present here has seen- you both have lot in common then just your parents like your inability to lie, your stubborness, your curiosity , your-""Ok no need to list our similarities here . As you said everyone has seen." Carter and Sadie cut her off." I think, we got another one." Percy teased. "Ok , lets move on with the book otherwise it won't end any time soon .It is quite thick. " Walt said.At that everyone nodded their head.


	5. CHAP 4: A DEATH AT THE NEEDLE PART 2

**A/N Ok my exams had ended and now winter holidays are here so get ready for more chapters**. **Hurrah ;-)**

\--

 **CHAPTER** **4** **THE DEATH AT THE NEEDLE _part 2_**

 **Nobody's pov**

Athena continues

 **We trudged down the steps. I was thinking how she smelled like a combination of old people's house and bubble gum when she stopped so abruptly, I ran into her.**

"Eww" Aphodite squealed and fainted on describing her smell.

 **"Who's that?" she asked.**

 **I'd almost forgotten about the dude in the trench coat. He and my dad were standing across the street next to the big tree, having what looked like a serious argument. Dad's back was turned so I couldn't see his face, but he gestured with his hands like he does when he's agitated. The other guy scowled and shook his head.**

 **"Dunno," I said. "He was there when we pulled up."**

 **"He looks familiar." Sadie frowned like she was trying to remember. "Come on."**

 **"Dad wants us to wait in the cab," I said, even though I knew it was no use. Sadie was already on the move.**

" See , I told ya I never listen to you ."" And this only the first clue." Carter murmured.

 **Instead of going straight across the street, she dashed up the sidewalk for half a block, ducking behind cars, then crossed to the opposite side and crouched under a low stone wall. She started sneaking toward our dad. I didn't have much choice but to follow her example, even though it made me feel kind of stupid.**

 **"Six years in England," I muttered, "and she thinks she's James Bond."**

" Being precautious does not harm" Percy said with a shrug. " True and the great Percy Jackson has mastered the art of evesdroping. " Grover said seriously. "True true" said all the demigods who had been victim of his evesdropping.

 **Sadie swatted me without looking back and kept creeping forward.**

 **A couple more steps and we were right behind the big dead tree. I could hear my dad on the other side, saying, "—have to, Amos. You know it's the right thing."**

 **"No," said the other man, who must've been Amos. His voice was deep and even—very insistent. His accent was American. "If I don't stop you, Julius, they will. The Per Ankh is shadowing you."**

" What is per ankh?" Nico asked the Egyptians. Carter opens his mouth to answer but Walt cuts him off by saying " You will find about it later."

 **Sadie turned to me and mouthed the words "Per what?"**

 **I shook my head, just as mystified. "Let's get out of here," I whispered, because I figured we'd be spotted any minute and get in serious trouble. Sadie, of course, ignored me.**

"Ignorance is a bliss." Sadie said. " But not when someone who is older and more responsible is telling you to do something Sadie ." Zia admonished. "Ok. Ok" Sadie raised her hands in defense making her brother and parents to smile. They knew she was only feigning sincerity.

 **"They don't know my plan," my father was saying. "By the time they figure it out—"**

 **"And the children?" Amos asked. The hairs stood up on the back of my neck. "What about them?"**

 **"I've made arrangements to protect them," my dad said. "Besides, if I don't do this, we're all in danger. Now, back off."**

 **"I can't, Julius."**

 **"Then it's a duel you want?" Dad's tone turned deadly serious. "You never could beat me, Amos."**

" YAHOO, AT LAST SOME ACTION" cried Clarisse and her father startling everyone .

As if hit by a lightening Sadie turned to Carter and said"Wait a second , if after the red pyramid war Amos was second strongest magician and he could never beat dad in a combat then" "that means before this whole thing occured Dad was third strongest magician in the world. That is so cool" Carter ended with a smile. At that conclusion Julius smiled proudly and Amos scowl at the Kane siblings. Ruby simply shook her head at her family's antics. No one noticed it other than Zia and Walt who tried to hide their smiles.

 **I hadn't seen my dad get violent since the Great Spatula Incident, and I wasn't anxious to see a repeat of that, but the two men seemed to be edging toward a fight.**

" What was this great spatula fight we have been hearing about for so long and if someone now says about finding about it later ,I will behead that person with my sword." " firstly you won't find about it in further chapters so we really cannot say those lines "Sadie replied ." And to answer your first question all you should know of this infamous spatula attack is it ended with sending lawyers from both parties , Sadie and I for intensive care in hospital." Carter ended making everyone wince and Ruby raised her eyebrow at her husband.

 **Before I could react, Sadie popped up and shouted, "Dad!"**

" Noooo , you girl are a real party bummer" Clarisse said to Sadie and went back to sleep.

 **He looked surprised when she tackle-hugged him, but not nearly as surprised as the other guy, Amos. He backed up so quickly, he tripped over his own trench coat.**

Amos blushed and everyone else laughed.

 **He'd taken off his glasses. I couldn't help thinking that Sadie was right. He did look familiar—like a very distant memory.**

 **"I—I must be going," he said. He straightened his fedora and lumbered down the road.**

Making room to fill with another bout of laughter.

 **Our dad watched him go. He kept one arm protectively around Sadie and one hand inside the workbag slung over his shoulder. Finally, when Amos disappeared around the corner, Dad relaxed. He took his hand out of the bag and smiled at Sadie. "Hello, sweetheart."**

 **Sadie pushed away from him and crossed her arms. "Oh, now it's sweetheart, is it? You're late. Visitation Day's nearly over! And what was that about? Who's Amos, and what's the Per Ankh?"**

 **Dad stiffened. He glanced at me like he was wondering how much we'd overheard.**

 **"It's nothing," he said, trying to sound upbeat.**

" When someone says 'it is nothing' then it definitely is somthing big" Travis said conspirationally. While Conner and surprisingly Percy nodded their heads. " Oh my Zeus , what have you both done to my boyfriend " Annabeth cried in horror making everyone laugh. Percy surprised by her outburst said " I assure you wise girl these both have not done anything ." While Stroll brothers feigned innocence. " I am just saying it out of experience." he said looking at Grover and Chiron.

 **"I have a wonderful evening planned. Who'd like a private tour of the British Museum?"**

"Wow what a wonderful evening being sliced by a kindly one in the museum" Percy muttered bringig a smile on Grover's and Chrion's face.

 **Sadie slumped in the back of the taxi between Dad and me.**

 **"I can't believe it," she grumbled. "One evening together, and you want to do research."**

 **Dad tried for a smile. "Sweetheart, it'll be fun. The curator of the Egyptian collection personally invited—"**

 **"Right, big surprise." Sadie blew a strand of red-streaked hair out of her face. "Christmas Eve, and we're going to see some moldy old relics from Egypt. Do you ever think about anything else?"**

" MOLDY OLD RELICS ! " Annabeth and Athena shouted . " THEY ARE HISTROY!" On the other hand Percy silently mouthed to Sadie" I totally understand you"

 **Dad didn't get mad. He never gets mad at Sadie. He just stared out the window at the darkening sky and the rain.**

 **"Yes," he said quietly. "I do."**

 **Whenever Dad got quiet like that and stared off into nowhere, I knew he was thinking about our mom. The last few months, it had been happening a lot. I'd walk into our hotel room and find him with his cell phone in his hands, Mom's picture smiling up at him from the screen—her hair tucked under a headscarf, her blue eyes startlingly bright against the desert backdrop.**

 **Or we'd be at some dig site. I'd see Dad staring at the horizon, and I'd know he was remembering how he'd met her—two young scientists in the Valley of the Kings, on a dig to discover a lost tomb. Dad was an Egyptologist. Mom was an anthropologist looking for ancient DNA. He'd told me the story a thousand times.**

" AWWWWWW" Cooed Aphrodite and her daughters. Once Piper realised what she did she blushed at her inner Aphrodite. " Even though that setting was so unromantic with tomb and all but still I will ignore it for once. " Aphrodite said causing Julius and Ruby to scowl.

 **Our taxi snaked its way along the banks of the Thames. Just past Waterloo Bridge, my dad tensed.**

 **"Driver," he said. "Stop here a moment."**

 **The cabbie pulled over on the Victoria Embankment.**

 **"What is it, Dad?" I asked.**

 **He got out of the cab like he hadn't heard me. When Sadie and I joined him on the sidewalk, he was staring up at Cleopatra's Needle.**

 **In case you've never seen it: the Needle is an obelisk, not a needle, and it doesn't have anything to do with Cleopatra.**

" What is an obelisk? and Why did they named it Cleopatra's needle if it has nothing to do with it." Grover asked confused

"To answer your first question an obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shapeat the top. These were originally calledtekhenu by us Egyptians. " Zia said." And the answer of second question is in the book if only you would have allowed me to continue." Athena replied sternly making him gulp.

 **I guess the British just thought the name sounded cool when they brought it to London. It's about seventy feet tall, which would've been really impressive back in Ancient Egypt, but on the Thames, with all the tall buildings around, it looks small and sad. You could drive right by it and not even realize you'd just passed something that was a thousand years older than the city of London.**

 **"God." Sadie walked around in a frustrated circle. "Do we have to stop for every monument?"**

" I think you meant she walked in a circle frustrated. Right." Athena asked with a frown. " Yes it was meant to be that way but because someone was shouting at me it came out other way." Carter replied glaring at his sister.

 **My dad stared at the top of the obelisk. "I had to see it again," he murmured. "Where it happened..."**

 **A freezing wind blew off the river. I wanted to get back in the cab, but my dad was really starting to worry me. I'd never seen him so distracted.**

 **"What, Dad?" I asked. "What happened here?"**

 **"The last place I saw her."**

 **Sadie stopped pacing. She scowled at me uncertainly, then back at Dad. "Hang on. Do you mean Mum?"**

" Yes he meant me . But I don't think he stopped there because of me right." Ruby asked. " Right he stopped because I think he could see Aphopis was getting stronger.That is why he seemed distracted knowing what would happen if he does not hurry." Carter replied.

 **Dad brushed Sadie's hair behind her ear, and she was so surprised, she didn't even push him away.**

 **I felt like the rain had frozen me solid. Mom's death had always been a forbidden subject. I knew she'd died in an accident in London. I knew my grandparents blamed my dad. But no one would ever tell us the details. I'd given up asking my dad, partly because it made him so sad, partly because he absolutely refused to tell me anything. "When you're older" was all he would say, which was the most frustrating response ever.**

" I agree with you . My mom always said that whenever I asked her about dad. And I know all those looks when she looked at sea lost in her own thoughts. Sometimes it became really frustrating." Percy replied.

 **"You're telling us she died here," I said. "At Cleopatra's Needle? What happened?"**

 **He lowered his head.**

 **"Dad!" Sadie protested. "I go past this every day, and you mean to say—all this time—and I didn't even know?"**

 **"Do you still have your cat?" Dad asked her, which seemed like a really stupid question.**

" Don't change the subject . We have been waiting so long to find more about the story." Leo protested. " Hey it is only first chapter of first book. For the whole story you have to read the entire series." Walt stated calmly provoking cries from all around the room.

 **"Of course I've still got the cat!" she said. "What does that have to do with anything?"**

 **"And your amulet?"**

" Amulets ? "" More in book"

 **Sadie's hand went to her neck. When we were little, right before Sadie went to live with our grandparents, Dad had given us both Egyptian amulets. Mine was an Eye of Horus, which was a popular protection symbol in Ancient Egypt.**

All the Greeks eyed Carter making him to roll his eyes and thrust the amulet at front for them to see.

 **In fact my dad says the modern pharmacist's symbol is a simplified version of the Eye of Horus, because medicine is supposed to protect you.**

 **Anyway, I always wore my amulet under my shirt, but I figured Sadie would've lost hers or thrown it away.**

" Hey it was the only remainder of dad other than muffin, of course I would keep it with me ." Sadie said sadly which was very unlike her .

 **To my surprise, she nodded. "'Course I have it, Dad, but don't change the subject. Gran's always going on about how you caused Mum's death. That's not true, is it?"**

 **We waited. For once, Sadie and I wanted exactly the same thing—the truth.**

"Well that will be the first of the few blue moons when the Kane siblings want the same thing. I think we should cherish these moments with a round of applause." Walt announced to which everyone except the aforementioned clapped and hooted. The kane siblings blushed and punched him on his arms so hard it could rival WWE wrestlers.

 **"The night your mother died," my father started, "here at the Needle—"**

 **A sudden flash illuminated the embankment. I turned, half blind, and just for a moment I glimpsed two figures: a tall pale man with a forked beard and wearing cream-colored robes, and a coppery-skinned girl in dark blue robes and a headscarf—the kind of clothes I'd seen hundreds of times in Egypt. They were just standing there side by side, not twenty feet away, watching us. Then the light faded. The figures melted into a fuzzy afterimage. When my eyes readjusted to the darkness, they were gone.**

"Let me guess the girl wearing dark blue robes and having coppery skin were you Zia?" Piper guessed. "Yes that was Zia but I am surprised Carter you didn't add some endearing words to her description" Sadie said wringling her eyes. Carter blushed at the same time glared at her which was pretty hard but then he was a Kane so he managed it pretty well.

 **"Um..." Sadie said nervously. "Did you just see that?"**

 **"Get in the cab," my dad said, pushing us toward the curb. "We're out of time."**

 **From that point on, Dad clammed up.**

"Oh man I hate it when they Clam up. Dude at least they should give a hint to what was going to happen. At least we would not find ourselves at doors of death so often. "Percy whinned making all the god and elders to bow their heads in shame. They knew what he was saying was true but also they have to determine their own fates.

 **"This isn't the place to talk," he said, glancing behind us. He'd promised the cabbie an extra ten pounds if he got us to the museum in under five minutes, and the cabbie was doing his best.**

 **"Dad," I tried, "those people at the river—"**

 **"And the other bloke, Amos," Sadie said. "Are they Egyptian police or something?"**

" Wow ,Sadie you were quite close to truth even if you were guessing. " Exclaimed Amos. " Thank you, thank you" sadie bowed to everyone like an actor does at the end of the play.

 **"Look, both of you," Dad said, "I'm going to need your help tonight. I know it's hard, but you have to be patient. I'll explain everything, I promise, after we get to the museum. I'm going to make everything right again."**

" Why the Hades does you father gives you only half knowledge? Don't you know half knowledge is more harmful then none." Athena exclaimed eyeing Osiris.

 **"What do you mean?" Sadie insisted. "Make what right?"**

 **Dad's expression was more than sad. It was almost guilty. With a chill, I thought about what Sadie had said: about our grandparents blaming him for Mom's death. That couldn't be what he was talking about, could it?**

" Well in a way it was My-Julius 's mistake than Ruby died." Osiris said . Ruby huffed and said " Don't start now the blame game. You know as well as I do it was my choice and only I am responsible for it ." Osiris simply withdrew back .

 **The cabbie swerved onto Great Russell Street and screeched to a halt in front of the museum's main gates.**

 **"Just follow my lead," Dad told us. "When we meet the curator, act normal."**

 **I was thinking that Sadie never acted normal, but I decided not to say anything.**

" How dare you say I don't act normal. "" I said I was tempted to say that just like now ."" Hey I-""Ok stop fighting guys. we don't have our entire lifetime to finish . Continue Lady Athena. " At those words from Zia Athena continued.

 **We climbed out of the cab. I got our luggage while Dad paid the driver with a big wad of cash. Then he did something strange. He threw a handful of small objects into the backseat—they looked like stones, but it was too dark for me to be sure. "Keep driving," he told the cabbie. "Take us to Chelsea."**

 **That made no sense since we were already out of the cab, but the driver sped off. I glanced at Dad, then back at the cab, and before it turned the corner and disappeared in the dark, I caught a weird glimpse of three passengers in the backseat: a man and two kids.**

" Was that magic because there is no way the cabbie could get passengers so fast. " Will said.

" Yep that is." Bast replied.

 **I blinked. There was no way the cab could've picked up another fare so fast. "Dad—"**

 **"London cabs don't stay empty very long," he said matter-of-factly. "Come along, kids."** **He marched off through the wrought iron gates.**

 **For a second, Sadie and I hesitated.** **"Carter, what is going on?"** **I shook my head. "I'm not sure I want to know."** **"Well, stay out here in the cold if you want, but I'm not leaving without an explanation." She turned and marched after our dad.** **Looking back on it, I should've run. I should've dragged Sadie out of there and gotten as far away as possible. Instead I followed her through the gates.**

" I wish for once you should have listened to yourself Carter." Sadie replied then became cheerful and said " But then we could not have embarked on those adventures right." "Yes true" Carter shook her head at her positivity.

"Ok the Chapter ends." Athena said ."Now who wish to read the next one."


	6. CHAP 5 AN EXPLOSION FOR CHRISTMAS PART 1

**A/N Ok give me either a round of appluse or some boos , the choice is happily yours,for my last chapter because I completed it in one day. Can you believe it . :-o Ok here is next chapter .Please rate it ;-)**

 **CHAPTER 5 : AN EXPLOSION FOR CHRISTMAS part 1**

 **Nobody's pov**

"Ok the Chapter ends." Athena said ."Now who wish to read the next one."

" I will. " Throth said. Athena passed the book to him

Throth read

 **Chapter 2. An Explosion for Christmas**

" Is this the same explosion you guys were talking about in last chapter." Magicians shook their head in positive.

 **I'D BEEN TO THE BRITISH MUSEM BEFORE. In fact I've been in more museums than I like to admit—it makes me sound like a total geek.**

"Atleast you get to see a lot of histroy and architecture." Annabeth said dreamily.

 **[That's Sadie in the background, yelling that I am a total geek. Thanks, Sis.]**

 **Anyway, the museum was closed and completely dark, but the curator and two security guards were waiting for us on the front steps.**

 **"Dr. Kane!" The curator was a greasy little dude in a cheap suit. I'd seen mummies with more hair and better teeth.**

 **At that description, Aphrodite fainted.**

 **He shook my dad's hand like he was meeting a rock star.**

" Your father is a rock star ,except not of music ,but of archeology" Athena said.Osiris blushed while Ruby glared at them.

 **"Your last paper on Imhotep—brilliant! I don't know how you translated those spells!"**

" Im-ho-who?" All the demigods except Annabeth exclaimed." Given in the book. "Sadie said in a singy voice before anyone could answer them.

 **"Im-ho-who?" Sadie muttered to me.**

 **"Imhotep," I said. "High priest, architect. Some say he was a magician. Designed the first step pyramid. You know."**

 **"Don't know," Sadie said. "Don't care. But thanks."**

" How could you not care about those things ? They are your histroy." Throth exclaimed. Sadie simply smiled sweetly at him.

 **Dad expressed his gratitude to the curator for hosting us on a holiday. Then he put his hand on my shoulder. "Dr. Martin, I'd like you to meet Carter and Sadie."**

 **"Ah! Your son, obviously, and—" The curator looked hesitantly at Sadie. "And this young lady?"**

 **"My daughter," Dad said.**

 **Dr. Martin's stare went temporarily blank. Doesn't matter how open-minded or polite people think they are, there's always that moment of confusion that flashes across their faces when they realize Sadie is part of our family. I hate it, but over the years I've come to expect it.**

" Me too Carter ,me too." Sadie replied to Carter. But Walt knew how much it hurted her and took one of her hands in his. Ruby bowed her head ,sad to see her children treated like that.

 **The curator regained his smile. "Yes, yes, of course. Right this way, Dr. Kane. We're very honored!"**

 **The security guards locked the doors behind us. They took our luggage, then one of them reached for Dad's workbag.**

 **"Ah, no," Dad said with a tight smile. "I'll keep this one."**

" Was he a clear sighted mortal or a magician ?" Asked Thalia. " I think a clear sighted mortal. Because if he was a magician he would have not have allowed dad to keep his kit no matter what. "Carter replied eyeing Sadie and Walt's held hand with brotherly protectiveness.

 **The guards stayed in the foyer as we followed the curator into the Great Court. It was ominous at night. Dim light from the glass-domed ceiling cast crosshatched shadows across the walls like a giant spiderweb. Our footsteps clicked on the white marble floor.**

 **"So," Dad said, "the stone."**

 **"Yes!" the curator said. "Though I can't imagine what new information you could glean from it. It's been studied to death—our most famous artifact, of course."**

Athena and Annabeth started thinking again about which stone they were talking.

 **"Of course," Dad said. "But you may be surprised."**

 **"What's he on about now?" Sadie whispered to me.**

 **I didn't answer. I had a sneaking suspicion what stone they were talking about, but I couldn't figure out why Dad would drag us out on Christmas Eve to see it.**

 **I wondered what he'd been about to tell us at Cleopatra's Needle—something about our mother and the night she died.**

"We too are wondering the same things book-Carter? And we also know no one not even real Carter would tell us. " Clotho said sourly gaining a lot of shhh from others.

 **And why did he keep glancing around as if he expected those strange people we'd seen at the Needle to pop up again?**

" Because they can. Duh!" Thalia said. " I didn't knew anything about this entire craziness. How do you expect me to know that." Carter said defensively.

 **We were locked in a museum surrounded by guards and high-tech security. Nobody could bother us in here—I hoped.**

" This reminds me of a fact I should tell you. If you love meseum you should avoid first few chapters of all the books because each book starts with one museum blown whether it is british museum in this book or burning brooklyn museum in second book or the museum of Dallas in third book. It is kind of a good luck for them. I guess." Zia finished , laughing hysterically at everyone's reactions along with younger magicians. Ruby , Julius and Amos were speachless not knowing whether to be happy for their safety or angry at the destruction they caused. While Throth and Athena had already fainted . Annabeth, Jason and all other gods were opening and closing their mouth like a fish out of water. All other demigods and Grover were trying their level best to control their laughter. " Ahem, so continuing on" Carter gingerly took the book from Throth's lap and started reading.

 **Walt's pov**

Carter read

 **We turned left into the Egyptian wing. The walls were lined with massive statues of the pharaohs and gods, but my dad bypassed them all and went straight for the main attraction in the middle of the room.**

" I feel hurt because of that." Set said. " Who cares. " Sadie said with a shrug and all the younger magicians nodded their heads. Demigods could only look at them in awe that they did not get incinerated because of insult they did to their gods . Reyna asked " Don't you fear your gods ? Won't they incinerate you for insulting them?" . We looked at them bewildered then started laughing hysterically. _Dude they are serious_ Anubis said in my mind making me sober. _What ?_ I asked him . _Yah, the Greeks and especially Roman gods and goddess were very strict when it came on people more specifically humans to respect them. They always thought humans to be very weak and insignificant. Unlike us who required you all to stay on Earth. They even kept their kids at an arm's length that is why they had their wars._ I focused back to present, I saw the greeks looking at me in confusion. I on the other hand turned toward my partners in crime Sadie , Zia and Carter and told them what Anubis told me. When I finished they all looked shocked and angry. Carter started to say something but I stopped by wispering "Let us discuss it with them in break time. Right now we should continue with the book." At this Carter nods his head but I can see he is a bit reluctant and clears his throat. " Moving on"

 **"Beautiful," my father murmured. "And it's not a replica?"**

 **"No, no," the curator promised. "We don't always keep the actual stone on display, but for you—this is quite real."**

" That was a big mistake, mister curator" I whispered to Carter and Sadie making them stifle their laughs.

 **We were staring at a slab of dark gray rock about three feet tall and two feet wide. It sat on a pedestal, encased in a glass box. The flat surface of the stone was chiseled with three distinct bands of writing. The top part was Ancient Egyptian picture writing: hieroglyphics. The middle section...I had to rack my brain to remember what my dad called it: Demotic, a kind of writing from the period when the Greeks controlled Egypt and a lot of Greek words got mixed into Egyptian. The last lines were in Greek.**

" Is that what I think it is? " Annabeth asked." The Rosetta stone" Athena exclaimed gleefully having just woke up.

 **"The Rosetta Stone," I said.**

 **"Isn't that a computer program?" Sadie asked.**

" Yes it is also name of a computer program but right then you were seeing the real Rosetta stone." Annabeth exclaimed with a weird sort of enthusiam that people around her started shifting away.

 **I wanted to tell her how stupid she was, but the curator cut me off with a nervous laugh. "Young lady, the Rosetta Stone was the key to deciphering hieroglyphics! It was discovered by Napoleon's army in 1799 and—"**

 **"Oh, right," Sadie said. "I remember now."**

 **I knew she was just saying that to shut him up, but my dad wouldn't let it go.**

" We know how you felt. " Said many gods and demigods and if my guess is right they had been unlucky enough to listen to Annabeth or Athena. _Poor them._

Anubis said _I too very well know that feeling when Throth starts babbling about science._

 **Sadie," he said, "until this stone was discovered, regular mortals...er, I mean, no one had been able to read hieroglyphics for centuries. The written language of Egypt had been completely forgotten. Then an Englishman named Thomas Young proved that the Rosetta Stone's three languages all conveyed the same message. A Frenchman named Champollion took up the work and cracked the code of hieroglyphics."**

 **Sadie chewed her gum, unimpressed. "What's it say, then?"**

 **Dad shrugged. "Nothing important. It's basically a thank-you letter from some priests to King Ptolemy V. When it was first carved, the stone was no big deal.**

" Are you kidding me. A thank you letter. You destroyed your christmas just for a thank you letter. Is this entire story based upon that letter? Because if it is I am so against this reading. " Lord Hermes exclaimed." I can assure you that the letter is only the start of the real adventure." " And I also assure you that letter is not at all unimportant about which you would find in latter chapters. "Carter finished.

 **But over the centuries...over the centuries it has become a powerful symbol. Perhaps the most important connection between Ancient Egypt and the modern world. I was a fool not to realize its potential sooner."**

 **He'd lost me, and apparently the curator too.**

" Us too book -Carter, us too" said Atropos seriously.

 **Dr. Kane?" he asked. "Are you quite all right?"**

 **Dad breathed deeply. "My apologies, Dr. Martin. I was just...thinking aloud. If I could have the glass removed? And if you could bring me the papers I asked for from your archives."**

 **Dr. Martin nodded. He pressed a code into a small remote control, and the front of the glass box clicked open.**

 **"It will take a few minutes to retrieve the notes," Dr. Martin said. "For anyone else, I would hesitate to grant unguarded access to the stone, as you've requested. I trust you'll be careful."**

 **He glanced at us kids like we were troublemakers.**

" Well he really should have considered your dad as one not you both." Zia stated making Julius blush.

 **"We'll be careful," Dad promised.**

 **As soon as Dr. Martin's steps receded, Dad turned to us with a frantic look in his eyes. "Children, this is very important. You have to stay out of this room."**

 **He slipped his workbag off his shoulder and unzipped it just enough to pull out a bike chain and padlock. "Follow Dr. Martin. You'll find his office at the end of the Great Court on the left. There's only one entrance. Once he's inside, wrap this around the door handles and lock it tight. We need to delay him."**

 **"You want us to lock him in?" Sadie asked, suddenly interested. "Brilliant!"**

Ruby raised one eyebrow at Sadie making her blush. We all Chuckled at her comment.

 **"Dad," I said, "what's going on?"**

 **"We don't have time for explanations," he said. "This will be our only chance. They're coming."**

 **"Who's coming?" Sadie asked.**

 **He took Sadie by the shoulders. "Sweetheart, I love you. And I'm sorry...I'm sorry for many things, but there's no time now. If this works, I promise I'll make everything better for all of us. Carter, you're my brave man. You have to trust me. Remember, lock up Dr. Martin. Then stay out of this room!"**

" Can someone please not talk in riddles and say straight forward what is happening?" Percy exasperated. " three words-read the book" Osiris said making him huff.

 **Chaining the curator's door was easy. But as soon as we'd finished, we looked back the way we'd come and saw blue light streaming from the Egyptian gallery, as if our dad had installed a giant glowing aquarium.**

" You really have weird but facinating imagination . And what is this blue light ? Is it some kind of siginal?"Percy asked " For first comment thank you and to your question I think you know and have seen what it could be. Carter replied making him knit his eyebrows in thought.

 **Sadie locked eyes with me. "Honestly, do you have any idea what he's up to?"**

 **"None," I said.**

" Oh my gods run for the hills . Carter does not know something. World is going to end .." I exclaimed making everyone laugh. Carter simply glared at me and said " Let me finish stone ."

 **"But he's been acting strange lately. Thinking a lot about Mom. He keeps her picture..."**

" Awwww" Lady Aphrodite said. Anubis said in my mind _These love gods and goddesses makes my head spin._ I smiled internally and nodded my head.

 **I didn't want to say more. Fortunately Sadie nodded like she understood.**

 **"What's in his workbag?" she asked.**

 **"I don't know. He told me never to look."**

" You never looked. I did not expect you to be so incurious ?" Athena exclaimed in diapproval. At this Osiris said " I- I mean - Julius said him to do so. And he was only listening to those orders ." He ended on a firm note looking at Sadie.

 **Sadie raised an eyebrow. "And you never did? God, that is so like you, Carter. You're hopeless."**

" Hopeless but mine. "Zia said to Carter in a whisper but unfortunately it was loud enough for me and Sadie to hear it making us gag . Carter blushed. While everyone else looked at us in confusion.

 **I wanted to defend myself, but just then a tremor shook the floor.**

 **Startled, Sadie grabbed my arm. "He told us to stay put. I suppose you're going to follow that order too?"**

 **Actually, that order was sounding pretty good to me, but Sadie sprinted down the hall, and after a moment's hesitation, I ran after her.**

" Really ,you should start listening to the orders given by elders." Osiris said firmly but he had a smile on his face.

 **When we reached the entrance of the Egyptian gallery, we stopped dead in our tracks. Our dad stood in front of the Rosetta Stone with his back to us. A blue circle glowed on the floor around him, as if someone had switched on hidden neon tubes in the floor.**

" Oh zeus, when will those bizarre comparisons would end." Thalia said throwing her hand dramatically in air. " One simple word -never" Carter retorted.

 **My dad had thrown off his overcoat. His workbag lay open at his feet, revealing a wooden box about two feet long, painted with Egyptian images.**

 **"What's he holding?" Sadie whispered to me. "Is that a boomerang?"**

" Boomerang! It is-" " we know what it is uncle now , and also got a crash course on it by doughboy who will come in later." While now Demigods understood the role of blue light. It was magic.

 **Sure enough, when Dad raised his hand, he was brandishing a curved white stick. It did look like a boomerang. But instead of throwing the stick, he touched it to the Rosetta Stone. Sadie caught her breath. Dad was writing on the stone. Wherever the boomerang made contact, glowing blue lines appeared on the granite. Hieroglyphs.**

Greeks were listening attentively with facination written on their faces about how egyptians did magic .

 **It made no sense. How could he write glowing words with a stick? But the image was bright and clear: ram's horns above a box and an X.**

" What does that mean ?" asked

Leo.

 **"Open," Sadie murmured. I stared at her, because it sounded like she had just translated the word, but that was impossible. I'd been hanging around Dad for years, and even I could read only a few hieroglyphs. They are seriously hard to learn.**

" Well if only you are Sadie, you can inherit reading thousand years old cryptic languages ." said Sadie jokingly to release the tense atmosphere but was unsuccessful. I tapped her hand to show her that I understood.

 **Dad raised his arms. He chanted: "Wo-seer, i-ei." And two more hieroglyphic symbols burned blue against the surface of the Rosetta Stone.**

 **As stunned as I was, I recognized the first symbol. It was the name of the Egyptian god of the dead.**

"'Wo-seer'. I thought your god of underworld's name is Osiris. " asked Nico. " Yes , in English it is Osiris while in engyptian it is 'Wo-seer'" replied bast.

 **"Wo-seer," I whispered. I'd never heard it pronounced that way, but I knew what it meant. "Osiris."**

 **"Osiris, come," Sadie said, as if in a trance. Then her eyes widened. "No!" she shouted. "Dad, no!"**

 **Our father turned in surprise. He started to say, "Children—" but it was too late. The ground rumbled. The blue light turned to searing white, and the Rosetta Stone exploded.**

" The Rosetta stone exploded ! " shouted Athena. Then she turned to Sadie with accusing eyes and said " It is your fault . What came in your mind that you had to disturb your father. " My blood boiled. _That Athena doesn't have any right to accuse our Sadie._ Anubis said . I saw from corners of my eyes that others were also have same thoughts like mine . How much Sadie may be mischievous and never listened to any one but she is ours and no one had the right to say against her. I was ready to stand up and defend her when she stood up and said " First " she pointed to the book in Carter's hand and said " Ha-di" . The book blasted in Carter's hand making Greeks to sigh in awe . All we magicians could do was shook our heads at her. _Athena is getting angrier ._ Anubis said. Before anyone could comment Sadie again pointed her finger and said " Hi-nehm." The entire book reformed down to last peice. "Thank you Sadie for your excellent explaination. " Carter replied sarcastically. Sadie simply smiled. We turned towards only to find Greeks having their jaws on the floor. Even Athena looked Shaken. Anubis and I tried to control our laughs and I could see many others to do the same. "Ahem " Osiris cleared his throat to gain everyone's attention ." I think a half an hour break is in order . Let's take some coffee and refershments and meet here in half hour to continue the book." Everyone nodded their head and left the hall.


	7. CHAPTER 6: THE BREAK

**A/N Ok here we go. This is what happens during the break. Hope you would enjoy this chapter. And another this chapter was completely spontaneous. I assure you. I didn't think of this untill now. Give as much reviews as possible.**

 **THE BREAK** **part** **1**

 **Walt's pov**

Zia, Carter, Sadie and I followed the demigods not knowing where we will find the refershments. Sadie looked pretty weak. _She has used quite an amount of energy._ Anubis said. "Sadie you could have simply told them about mending spell instead of giving them a show. " At that Carter and Zia turned towards us. Carter frowned and said " Yes I agree with Walt. You should not have used so much of power Sadie." Zia nodded. At that Sadie gave her deluxe glare at me and said "Oh come on , How do you expect me to just explain to them . You saw how Athena behaved towards me. And their reaction after my antic was totally worth it. And it was not just for me, you heard what Anubis said ,Greek gods treat everyone like they are beneath their feet. How could you expect me to stay silent after that."

" l hate to say this but yeah she is as right as the fact that I have Jackal headed god in _my_ head." I replied . " _I am not jackal headed, dead boy."_ Anubis said through me making Sadie carter and Zia laugh at us. We huffed together and said " Focus guys." Carter stopped laughing "Ok I had to say Sadie has a point" at this Sadie looks at me and beams making me roll my eyes at her." _B_ _ut_ and I emphasise again _but_ you really don't have to waste your energy just to show them their place. "this was my turn to smile making her poke her tongue out." We can always talk sense in them." "We highly doubt that " Sadie and I say together making Zia hide her smile behind her hand.

" And further we still have not found Setne. If he tries something we would require our powers on its zenith. Ok now you guys stop goofing around and tell me your reports on setne."

Before I could begin Sadie cuts me off saying " We could not say anything related to his whereabouts until now as he is leaning against a pillar and is that toga he is wearing ? eww." Then realising what she said she shouts " Oh my Isis ,Its Setne."

Even before she finished her ranting we turn around only to find Setne leaning against the pillar near a fountain smiling broadly wearing a purple toga.

 **At the same time**

 **Among demigods**

 **Annabeth's pov**

I was walking behind Julius aka Osiris who was talking with my mother and Chiron as we were going towards the Dementer garden where buffet was laid for the everyone. I was totally stunned and a bit wary of the powers displayed by Sadie. Which was somthing like near to impossible but well everything has its first time.

Also I had a feeling that others were also wary about their powers especially the gods. Piper next to me said " I am glad this session is happening to create a bond between the two parthogens . I doubt we could have won a war against them without destroying both parthogens." Percy said "True and also I hate being part of another war. Hopefully, with their alliance we could keep wars at an arms length for a few centuries." " Are you saying we are weaker than some lousy magicians. For Zeus's sake we fought two wars and came victorious of them both. And they, all they have done is sitting and use some unintelligible words to fight." by the time Drew finished her rant many of us were frowning at her.

I know my hubris was pride but still I could not help admire their powers. I know they have not only impressed us demigods -well most of us- but also the gods. I overheard Lady Artemis talking with Thalia of recruiting Zia and Sadie.

But before anyone of us could admonish her for ignorance one of the magicians shouted something behind us and If I have pick it was most probably Sadie. We all exchanged glances then turned around to see them watching open mouthed at someone by the pillar...

 **Among Gods**

 **Bast's pov**

I was totally bored by them. Especially that Athena. She gives me same vibes as Isis. Powerful but too proud of herself. They all were talking about how Carter became The Pharaoh, what happened in the war against the gaint snake etc etc. I think Zeus is worried of Carter and Sadie 's power and their influence on our parthogen. Seriously can't my kittens have peace. Poor Sadie ,Even though she channelled Isis's powers I could feel she was tired ,most probably because she was using them locate that evil Setne. My eyes met Bes's and I could tell he was thinking along the same lines. "Typical of them to be scared others' powers." Ruby huffed next to me. "Well I guess power and position was always a weakness for those who have them." said Ra wisely. "You are saying it as if it was never yours." I replied. Ra laughs knowing it to be a truth.

Before anyone could say further my hair stood up. I could feel something was not right and then Sadie shouts along the lines Its Setne which makes us all to turn at her .The Greek gods look at her curiously while we Egyptian gods were too shocked to see the person by the pillar to do something..


	8. CHAP 7 THE BREAK PART 2

**A/N Ok** **I just loved that cliffhanger . I hope those who love Setne would be happy for his** **cameo in the story. Hope you will like it.**

\--

 **THE BREAK PART 2**

 **Sadie** **'s** **pov**

" What Won't you welcome me? " Setne said. Before anyone could reply or do somthing I threw a peice of rope towards him and said " Tas". But before the rope could reached him he vanished. Walt caught me as I stumbled back. _Dammit I really should not have used so much power_. For a few minutes silence suspended in the air like a fog. Then everyone, especially the greeks, started speaking altogether. On top of them Lord Zeus was shouting at everyone for silence. Carter whispers in my ears _At brunch take Walt for refreshments while Zia and I go talk to the greek gods for breach in their security._ I whispers back _Fine but don't forget we still have to contact Brooklyn house to tell them what is happening._ At Carter's hit by lightening face I could not help but giggle making him to glare at me and Zia and Walt to raise their eyebrows at our antics curiously. " Ok fine you will contact 21st nome to tell them we are safe.", Carter says in a low voice " Holy Osiris , we haven't told them yet" Walt says while Zia also gives an alarming look making me laugh more. Then Carter shouts " Ok everyone , The show ends . I believe everyone must be hungry so lets move towards the Dementer gardens.

Everyone shake their heads in agreement and start moving towards the said place making Lord Zeus gaped at them angrily.

 _Dementer's Garden._

Walt pulled me towards the buffet table and said " Ok what is the plan."Looking at the table piled up with food my stomach grumbled. Walt smiled and said "I think I know now. Lets eat first and then try to communicate." I smiled and turned towards the buffet and started filling my plate with food. Walt did the same. We searched for a table only to find many of them were taken. Carter and Zia were seated with Lord Zeus ,Lady Hera ,Lady Athena, dad, Horus ,Isis ,Ra and Bast. And it seemed like quite intense discussion was going on. We found our seats on another smaller table with Bes , Mom, Chiron, Lady Hestia and the fates. On one of the large table were Lady Aphrodite, Lord Apollo, Lady Artemis, Lord Hermes, Lady Dementer , Lord Poseidon , Lord Hades , Lord Dionysus, Lord Hephaestus, Lord Ares ,Set , Nephthys and Throth (who apparently had his nose in a book which seemed to be about fishes.)The demigods were on another large table. Both the large table were making quite noise. But nobody seemed to mind. Lady Hestia was very friendly and honest goddess . " So..." I started awkwardly, "You wish to say something child " Chiron asked amused. I nudged Walt. " .oh yes " he cleared his throat " umm you see our friends in 21st nome are kind of unaware

of our whereabouts and would most likely be worried about us. So we were thinking if there is anyway to reach them, even in letters it will help. " He laughs and says"Of course there is a way to communicate. we have our own goddess of communication Lady Iris. " Then he turns towards the demigods' table and calls Annabeth and Thalia. To them he says "Sadie and Walt wishes to send a message to their friends, show them how to call Lady Iris." Than he turns to us and says"go with them, they will assist you."

At this we agree top the idea and ask Annabeth and Thalia to lead us on. They look away us suspiciously but agrees to the suggestion and lead us to a fountain. I give a questioning look to Walt and he just shrugs.

Their Annabeth takes out a big coin made up of what seems like gold and tosses it in the water and prays" Oh Lady Iris, goddess of rainbows" at that I try to stifle a laugh and Walt looks amused "please allow us to talk to.." , Thalia whispers in my ears" say the name and place of your friend top whom you wish to talk" I think about it and then say "Jazz ,21 st nome. "And it show a picture of our house very similar to the time after the magicians attacked it during our journey to find Ra. _poor Throth._ His statue was upside down with multicoloured toes on full display.

I saw Jazz and most of our initiates preparing for what seemed like war. I look at Walt and see him looking at me helplessly. I shout at Jazz and she looks at me as if she has seen a ghost. Then she says" You can't deceive us with your plans Setne. Don't you dare think we will fall in your trap. We know you are not Sadie and Walt. " I give her a glare and I can see gears turning in her head. "It's that you Sadie. " "Yep, and good to see the house in such an excellent shape. " I gesture towards the scattered pillows and flying statue and she blushes and says "I-I-I am sorry but once we noticed that you and Walt have not come either for refreshments nor for TV time we kind of literally turned the house upside down and searched for you. Then we found that Zia , Carter and Amos are also missing we all panicked thinking you all have been abducted by someone." "Oh we are really sorry. We didn't want you all to worry about us. We ate fine and even though we did have a run-in with Setne but now everything is fine."

Cleo asked hopefully" Could you catch him? And where did you run in ? Where are you? What is happening Sadie? I saw some lights in library when you were their and even though white is not a colour of magic I thought you were doing some spell. Only when you vanished sid I realized that something has happened..." I cut her ramblung off and says" Don't worry Cleo nothing bad has happened to us. Only boring. "

" You are reading books." " Yep so long story short we are invited by another existing parthogens i.e the Greeks and Romans to read the books of our adventures as a peace offering. Which is a good thing except reading ofcourse. So anyway we are safe and fed here so no worries." They sigh at my explanation. Walt adds"That doesn't give you pass out of cleaning the mess you made. We want it in the same shape we left when we come back. understood. "Julius asks " All that is fine but when are you returning."At that everyone nods their heads. "We will return as soon as we finish the books. so hope us good luck. "At that Everyone laughs and says their goodbyes and the message ends.

I turn around to see Annabeth and Thalia looking at us oddly. "You didn't gave them your whereabouts. ""Was that necessary. " "True"she says with a genuine smile. "So who exactly is this Setne you were talking about. " I look at Walt thinking how much we can tell them only to see him evaluating same thoughts.

In the end we decide to tell them everything. I turn towards the demigods and tell them about Setne including the fact that we might need their help in future to capture him.

At the end of our tale they are shaking their heads in agreement but before they could say anything Lord Zeus announce the end of break and Zia comes to our side to ask how everything went. So we don't get the chance to further talk about it. we all move back to the throne room for further readings.

 **A/N Want to know what happened in meeting between Carter and Lord Zeus. Wait for the next chapter the break part 3**.


	9. CHAP 8 THE BREAK PART 3

**A/N Here comes last part of the break. Hope you will like it.** **It is about Carter having an unpleasant meeting with Lord Zeus. Poor Carter. For more scroll below.**

\--

 **BREAK 3**

 _ **Carter's pov**_

As Zia and I moved towards the table where Lord Zeus, Lady Athena, Lady Hera, Isis ,Horus, Ra and dad were sitting. We took our seats. Bast joined us. Awkward silence descends on the table.

Zia jabs my ribs with her elbow. I clear my throat gaining everyone's undivided attention. I start " Lord Zeus, we would like to put a preposition, or more like ask you to secure your palace more strongly. "

" Are you saying , you feel unsafe in mount Olympus bec-" ,I cut him off, making him glare at me, by saying " no no that was not what I mean. You all saw that guy whom Sadie tried to tie." All the Greek gods nod their head suspiciously. "

"He is Setne. He is a kind of runaway evil psycho ghost. He is kind of a problem. And we don't want him to give you too." Zia finished.

Athena seemed to be thinking and contemplating our idea while non athenan greek gods were looking at us with contempt. "I doubt he would dare to go against us. After all we survived _above_ _the earth_ for so many years." Zeus states proudly making dad , Ra and Bast groan at his high handedness for something so serious while Isis and Horus narrow their eyes at his 'above the ground' comment. Figures.

Dad replies ,before Isis or Horus could make a scrathing comment , " I believe you all to be strong but still you don't want a evil ghost to ruin our newfound alliance which would go against the wishes of your fates. wouldn't it." Zeus narrows his eyes and says " And how would I know you are saying the truth. That that ghost or whatever he is is not your ploy to weeken our forces- "Whhhaaat?? Are you kidding me. We are telling you to go strengthen you own protection. Use common sense. If we would have wanted to attack you , shouldn't we have asked for weakening it instead." Bast rants off.

" I should tell you - " Zeus starts only to get cut off the third time by his own daughter " Father ,I think they are right . If rhis spirit is a danger then we should make sure he does not get inside again." " Fine , I will go and make sure of the borders."

Zeus says forcefully and vanishes. It becomes awkward again. We slips out silently and move towards the table where Sadie and Walt were sitting.

Only to find out they left with two half bloods. Soon Zeus returns. I silently ask Zia to search for Sadie because I have a felling break would end pretty soon. Yep I was right within few minutes Zeus announces the wnd of break and we all starts moving towards the hall.

I slips next to Zia and asks Sadie about her talk with 21st nome. She tells me everyone thought us to be kidnapped and were preparing for war without even knowing where it could happen. Huh That was new. I tell her about my dicussion with Zeus. Before she could comment on it , we are told to sit down and the reading begins.

 **A/N OK I will try my best to update at the least weekly. Also I wish for you all to comment whether you all want to see futher Setne or not as cameo or as real villain. I am waiting for your comments.**


	10. CHAP 9 AN EXPLOSION FOR CHEISTMAS PART 2

**A/N Yay now for the real fun.**

\--

 **CHAPTER 9 : AN EXPLOSION FOR CHRISTMAS part 2**

 **Nobody** **'s pov**

Once everyone settles down the reading started.

Throth began

 **When I regained consciousness, the first thing I heard was laughter—horrible, gleeful laughter mixed with the blare of the museum's security alarms.**

"Ok what happened now." Apollo asked.

"Our father blew up a national artifact. " Carter said. " Nothing new. " Percy commented making Athena huff and those who had seen him do it laughed. Others just looked at him in amusement.

 **I felt like I'd just been run over by a tractor. I sat up, dazed, and spit a piece of Rosetta Stone out of my mouth.**

"Ewww" You can guess who said while demigods winced especially Percy as they knew what it felt like.

 **The gallery was in ruins. Waves of fire rippled in pools along the floor. Giant statues had toppled. Sarcophagi had been knocked off their pedestals. Pieces of the Rosetta Stone had exploded outward with such force that they'd embedded themselves in the columns, the walls, the other exhibits**.

Athena passed out listening to destruction caused to the museum while Ares and Set cheered for more.

 **Sadie was passed out next to me, but she looked unharmed. I shook her shoulder, and she grunted. "Ugh."** **In front of us, where the Rosetta Stone had been, stood a smoking, sheared-off pedestal. The floor was blackened in a starburst pattern, except for the glowing blue circle around our father.**

Everyone, except obviously the Kane siblings, leaned forward in anticipation.

 **He was facing our direction, but he didn't seem to be looking at us. A bloody cut ran across his scalp. He gripped the boomerang tightly.** **I didn't understand what he was looking at. Then the horrible laughter echoed around the room again, and I realized it was coming from right in front of me**.

Tension rose in the room.

 **Something stood between our father and us. At first, I could barely make it out—just a flicker of heat. But as I concentrated, it took on a vague form—the fiery outline of a man.** **He was taller than Dad, and his laugh cut through me like a chainsaw.** **"Well done," he said to my father. "Very well done, Julius."**

Sadie and Carter winced in remembrance of that night.

 **"You were not summoned!" My father's voice trembled. He held up the boomerang, but the fiery man flicked one finger, and the stick flew from Dad's hand, shattering against the wall.** **"I am never summoned, Julius," the man purred. "But when you open a door, you must be prepared for guests to walk through."**

"He sounds like a psychopath if you ask me" Leo says trying to diffuse the tension but only gets _shhhh._ Percygives him a weak smile and mouthed _you_ _tried._

 **"Back to the Duat!" my father roared. "I have the power of the Great King!"**

"Wait what is Duat and who is this great king ?"Carter and Sadie look at each other and replies "SPOILERS !" breaking the tension for few seconds.

 **"Oh, scary," the fiery man said with amusement. "And even if you knew how to use that power, which you do not, he was never my match. I am the strongest. Now you will share his fate."** **I couldn't make sense of anything, but I knew that I had to help my dad.**

"I know how you feel Carter." Percy said remembering his own first time when he thought minotaur would kill his mother. Annabeth patted his shoulder remembering the same.

 **I tried to pick up the nearest chunk of stone, but I was so terrified my fingers felt frozen and numb. My hands were useless.**

"First monster is always scary." Piper said. Carter and Sadie exchanged glances _First monster . More like god._

 **Dad shot me a silent look of warning: Get out. I realized he was intentionally keeping the fiery man's back to us, hoping Sadie and I would escape unnoticed.**

"They are always like that. Thinking for us before anything." Percy replied rather fondly thinking about his mother. Demigods other than Annabeth and Grover were looking at him in confusion.

 **Sadie was still groggy. I managed to drag her behind a column, into the shadows. When she started to protest, I clamped my hand over her mouth. That woke her up. She saw what was happening and stopped fighting.**

"Good. Now get out of there. "

"Apollo"

"Yes Lil' sis"

"You are talking to a book and I was born before you. " Before they could start arguing Throth continues.

 **Alarms blared. Fire circled around the doorways of the gallery. The guards had to be on their way, but I wasn't sure if that was a good thing for us.**

"Bad thing. Very very bad thing."

 **Dad crouched to the floor, keeping his eyes on his enemy, and opened his painted wooden box. He brought out a small rod like a ruler. He muttered something under his breath and the rod elongated into a wooden staff as tall as he was**. **Sadie made a squeaking sound. I couldn't believe my eyes either, but things only got weirder.**

"How can things get weirder than that." Hermes asked. Everyone nodded their heads other than Percy who said " I know.

 **Dad threw his staff at the fiery man's feet, and it changed into an enormous serpent—ten feet long and as big around as I was—with coppery scales and glowing red eyes.**

Greeks gasped astonished.

 **It lunged at the fiery man, who effortlessly grabbed the serpent by its neck. The man's hand burst into white-hot flames, and the snake burned to ashes.** **"An old trick, Julius," the fiery man chided.** **My dad glanced at us, silently urging us again to run.**

"Then why did you not?"

"Not what."

"Ran away."

"Because I was too shocked by what was happening."

 **Part of me refused to believe any of this was real. Maybe I was unconscious, having a nightmare. Next to me, Sadie picked up a chunk of stone.**

 **"How many?" my dad asked quickly, trying to keep the fiery man's attention. "How many did I release?"**

"What did he released ?"" Gods."

Making Greeks gasp.

 **"Why, all five," the man said, as if explaining something to a child. "You should know we're a package deal, Julius. Soon I'll release even more, and they'll be very grateful. I shall be named king again."** **"The Demon Days," my father said. "They'll stop you before it's too late."**

Athena and Annabeth was thinking hard trying to remember about demon days.

 **The fiery man laughed. "You think the House can stop me? Those old fools can't even stop arguing among themselves. Now let the story be told anew. And this time you shall never rise!"** **The fiery man waved his hand. The blue circle at Dad's feet went dark. Dad grabbed for his toolbox, but it skittered across the floor.**

 **"Good-bye, Osiris," the fiery man said.**

"YOU ARE JULIUS." Greeks other than Athena and Annabeth shouted and turned towards Osiris in awe. They had never seen a real life human god. Even though Walt also hosted one but they have never seen him as a god. While Julius was a fully god. Aphrodite squealed " Oh my me, you did it to stay close to your wife. That is soooo romantic. " Making Osiris and Ruby blush. **( A/N can a soul blush? I don't know. I have never met one. Lets assume this time that they can.)** Other Aphrodite girls except Piper to squeal too. Piper and other greeks rolled their eyes at their antics. They knew Aphrodite so they were ready for high pitched squealing.

While Sadie and Carter smiled sadly that even though they never could have a normal childhood at least their parents were together. And also they wanted to create a sound proof barrier because they doubted their ears could handle another round.

 **With another flick of his hand, he conjured a glowing coffin around our dad. At first it was transparent, but as our father struggled and pounded on its sides, the coffin became more and more solid—a golden Egyptian sarcophagus inlaid with jewels. My dad caught my eyes one last time, and mouthed the word Run! before the coffin sank into the floor, as if the ground had turned to water.**

The tension was back again.

 **"Dad!" I screamed.** **Sadie threw her stone, but it sailed harmlessly through the fiery man's head.**

Murmurs of What and How were heard all around the room.

 **He turned, and for one terrible moment, his face appeared in the flames. What I saw made no sense.**

Demigods nodded their heads. They knew first experience was always difficult to understand.

 **It was as if someone had superimposed two different faces on top of each other—one almost human, with pale skin, cruel, angular features, and glowing red eyes, the other like an animal with dark fur and sharp fangs. Worse than a dog or a wolf or a lion—some animal I'd never seen before.**

"The set animal." Carter muttered.

On the other hand, Annabeth, who had recognized the god turned towards Set and said " That is you. Right? "Set shakes his head in positive while Osiris/Julius grumbles about stupid brothers.

 **Those red eyes stared at me, and I knew I was going to die.**

" Pessimist much? "Hestia raise her eyebrows at Carter.

 **Behind me, heavy footsteps echoed on the marble floor of the Great Court. Voices were barking orders. The security guards, maybe the police—but they'd never get here in time.**

 **The fiery man lunged at us.**

Everyone was on the edge of their seat. They were worried for the Kane siblings.

 **A few inches from my face, something shoved him backward. The air sparked with electricity. The amulet around my neck grew uncomfortably hot.**

 **The fiery man hissed, regarding me more carefully. "So...it's you."**

"Wait. What happened again? " Apollo asked. "Did we miss something? " Hermes questioned . All the Greeks were confused while Athena and Annabeth were thinking hard.

 **The building shook again. At the opposite end of the room, part of the wall exploded in a brilliant flash of light. Two people stepped through the gap—the man and the girl we'd seen at the Needle, their robes swirling around them. Both of them held staffs.**

 **The fiery man snarled. He looked at me one last time and said, "Soon, boy."**

 **Then the entire room erupted in flames. A blast of heat sucked all the air of out my lungs and I crumpled to the floor.**

 **The last thing I remember, the man with the forked beard and the girl in blue were standing over me. I heard the security guards running and shouting, getting closer. The girl crouched over me and drew a long curved knife from her belt.**

 **"We must act quickly," she told the man.**

 **"Not yet," he said with some reluctance. His thick accent sounded French. "We must be sure before we destroy them."**

"Wait, I never thought about this but that day Desjardins saved you. " Bast said. Carter, Sadie, Zia and Walt towards her in horror then realized she was right. While everyone was watching them with curiously

 **I closed my eyes and drifted into unconsciousness**.

"The chapter ends. " Throth says. "Ok before we start next chapter we wish to ask you some questions? "Athena stated. " Ok we will answer only if it would be necessary."


	11. CHAP 10 IMPRISONED WITH MY CAT

**A/N** **Ok so for those who don't I am writing another story. It is on fem percy. Untill it is completed , read this new chapter. Hope you like this.**

 **Walt's** **pov**

 **Chapter 10. Imprisoned with My Cat**.

"The chapter ends. " Throth says. "Ok before we start next chapter we wish to ask you some questions? "Athena stated. " Ok we will answer only if it would be necessary."Sadie answered. "What is Duat? "Annabeth questioned even before Sadie could finish. "Given in the book. "" What is Per ankh? ""Given in the book. Greek sigh knowing this will be their standerd answer. "In that case we will just read the atupid book. " making magicians smile because they knew no one would understand if they will tell them their way. " Who will read? " Throth asks" I will."Lord Zeus replies. Clearing his throat he begins

 **Chapter 3 : Imprisoned with My Cat.**

 **[Give me the bloody mic.]**

Everyone looked confused. " That is usual. Don't worry about them. " I could sense Carter's and Sadie's glare while everyone else laughed.

 **Hullo. Sadie here. My brother's a rubbish storyteller. Sorry about that. But now you've got me, so all is well.**

 **Let's see. The explosion. Rosetta Stone in a billion pieces. Fiery evil bloke. Dad boxed in a coffin. Creepy Frenchman and Arab girl with the knife. Us passing out. Right.**

" Wait. Did you just call me Creepy Arab girl. "

"No, I called you Arab girl and Desjardins creepy Freshman."

 **So when I woke up, the police were rushing about as you might expect. They separated me from my brother. I didn't really mind that part. He's a pain anyway. But they locked me in the curator's office for ages. And yes, they used our bicycle chain to do it. Cretins.**

Everyone one laughed at Sadie's expression.

 **I was shattered, of course. I'd just been knocked out by a fiery whatever-it-was. I'd watched my dad get packed in a sarcophagus and shot through the floor. I tried to tell the police about all that, but did they care? No.**

" They never do, they never do. You know On Percy's first quest, police thought him to be a fugitive. " Grover told us. "We know how that feels. " We answered " Many times mortals has assumed our misadventures as gas explosions." Making them laugh.

 **Worst of all: I had a lingering chill, as if someone was pushing ice-cold needles into the back of my neck. It had started when I looked at those blue glowing words Dad had drawn on the Rosetta Stone and I knew what they meant. A family disease, perhaps? Can knowledge of boring Egyptian stuff be hereditary? With my luck.**

" We understand " Stolls say in mock seriousness and wipe a fake tear out of the corner of their eyes, making us laugh. Gods huff at that disease comment.

 **Long after my gum had gone stale, a policewoman finally retrieved me from the curator's office. She asked me no questions. She just trundled me into a police car and took me home. Even then, I wasn't allowed to explain to Gran and Gramps. The policewoman just tossed me into my room and I waited. And waited.**

 **I don't like waiting.**

 **I paced the floor. My room was nothing posh, just an attic space with a window and a bed and a desk. There wasn't much to do. Muffin sniffed my legs and her tail puffed up like a bottlebrush. I suppose she doesn't fancy the smell of museums. She hissed and disappeared under the bed.**

" I believe she does not like the smell of Isis. " Sadie muttered to me.

 **"Thanks a lot," I muttered.**

 **I opened the door, but the policewoman was standing guard.**

 **"The inspector will be with you in a moment," she told me. "Please stay inside."**

 **I could see downstairs—just a glimpse of Gramps pacing the room, wringing his hands, while Carter and a police inspector talked on the sofa. I couldn't make out what they were saying.**

 **"Could I just use the loo?" I asked the nice officer.**

 **"No." She closed the door in my face. As if I might rig an explosion in the toilet. Honestly.**

3..2..1.. The room exploded with laughter. Sone immature gods _cough Apollo and Hermes cough_ even fell off their throne. After twenty minutes ,when everyone quitened down the reading continued.

 **I dug out my iPod and scrolled through my playlist. Nothing struck me. I threw it on my bed in disgust. When I'm too distracted for music, that is a very sad thing. I wondered why Carter got to talk to the police first. It wasn't fair.**

 **I fiddled with the necklace Dad had given me. I'd never been sure what the symbol meant. Carter's was obviously an eye, but mine looked a bit like an angel, or perhaps a killer alien robot.**

We start to laugh while Isis huff at the 'killer alien robot' comment. " What is the symbol." Thalia asks. " It is symbol of Isis. " making Greeks to laugh too while Isis turns red.

 **Why on earth had Dad asked if I still had it? Of course I still had it. It was the only gift he'd ever given me. Well, apart from Muffin, and with the cat's attitude, I'm not sure I would call her a proper gift.**

" Are you saying I am not proper gift ? " Bast asks. " Wait, you are the cat? " Annabeth asks. Bast nods her head still miffed with proper gift comment.

 **Dad had practically abandoned me at age six, after all. The necklace was my one link to him. On good days I would stare at it and remember him fondly. On bad days (which were much more frequent) I would fling it across the room and stomp on it and curse him for not being around, which I found quite therapeutic. But in the end, I always put it back on.**

" I will totally recomend stomping on necklaces to my patients as a thearpy. " Will said laughing. Isis scowls at Sadie which I return back. _No one messes with my Sadie._

 **At any rate, during the weirdness at the museum—and I'm not making this up—the necklace got hotter. I nearly took it off, but I couldn't help wondering if it truly was protecting me somehow.**

" It was. " Sadie anwers rhe queationing looks given to her.

 **I'll make things right, Dad had said, with that guilty look he often gives me.**

 **Well, colossal fail, Dad.**

 **What had he been thinking? I wanted to believe it had all been a bad dream: the glowing hieroglyphs, the snake staff, the coffin. Things like that simply don't happen. But I knew better. I couldn't dream anything as horrifying as that fiery man's face when he'd turned on us. "Soon, boy," he'd told Carter, as if he intended to track us down. Just the idea made my hands tremble. I also couldn't help wondering about our stop at Cleopatra's Needle, how Dad had insisted on seeing it, as if he were steeling his courage, as if what he did at the British Museum had something to do with my mum.**

 **My eyes wandered across my room and fixed on my desk.**

 **No, I thought. Not going to do it.**

Carter threw Sadie a worried look. She did not meet anyone's eyes.

 **But I walked over and opened the drawer. I shoved aside a few old mags, my stash of sweets, a stack of maths homework I'd forgotten to hand in**

" You forgot to hand in homework. " Carter, Julius and Ruby shouts at her. " Geez, no need to worry. I did not even got time after that as I was busy saving the world."

 **, and a few pictures of me and my mates Liz and Emma trying on ridiculous hats in Camden Market. And there at the bottom of it all was the picture of Mum.**

 **Gran and Gramps have loads of pictures. They keep a shrine to Ruby in the hall cupboard—Mum's childhood artwork, her O-level results, her graduation picture from university, her favorite jewelry.**

Ruby and Greek gods and godesses smiled at that. I know of Ruby because she must be remembering about her parents but could not understand why the greek deities were behaving like that. _They are recollecting memories of their own children who died._ Anubis supplied. I smiled. _Seems like there is still a hope for them._

 **It's quite mental. I was determined not to be like them, living in the past. I barely remembered Mum, after all, and nothing could change the fact she was dead.**

Sadie leaned against me. I knew she was saying it for her own sake. She really missed her mother.

 **But I did keep the one picture. It was of Mum and me at our house in Los Angeles, just after I was born. She stood out on the balcony, the Pacific Ocean behind her, holding a wrinkled pudgy lump of baby that would some day grow up to be yours truly. Baby me was not much to look at, but Mum was gorgeous, even in shorts and a tattered T-shirt. Her eyes were deep blue. Her blond hair was clipped back. Her skin was perfect. Quite depressing compared to mine. People always say I look like her, but I couldn't even get the spot off my chin much less look so mature and beautiful.**

Greeks looked between Sadie and Ruby and then say in sync, which kind of creeps me out "You do look like Ruby ,Sadie." " Thanks. We could not have guessed that. " Carter says sarcastically.

 **[Stop smirking, Carter.]**

 **The photo fascinated me because I hardly remembered our lives together at all. But the main reason I'd kept the photo was because of the symbol on Mum's T-shirt: one of those life symbols—an ankh.**

" Well that is an oxymoron. "Athena said. Everyone looked at her and shook their head in amazement.

 **My dead mother wearing the symbol for life.Nothing could've been sadder. But she smiled at the camera as if she knew a secret. As if my dad and she were sharing a private joke.**

" Love is in the air" Aphrodite says dreamingly.

 **Something tugged at the back of my mind. That stocky man in the trench coat who'd been arguing with Dad across the street—he'd said something about the Per Ankh.**

 **Had he meant ankh as in the symbol for life, and if so, what was a per?**

" It could be the fruit, Pear." Nico says.

 **I supposed he didn't mean pear as in the fruit.**

Nico blushes.

 **I had an eerie feeling that if I saw the words Per Ankh written in hieroglyphics, I would know what they meant.**

 **I put down the picture of Mum. I picked up a pencil and turned over one of my old homework papers. I wondered what would happen if I tried to draw the words Per Ankh. Would the right design just occur to me?**

" It will. " Isis said.

 **As I touched pencil to paper, my bedroom door opened. "Miss Kane?"**

 **I whirled and dropped the pencil.**

 **A police inspector stood frowning in my doorway. "What are you doing?"**

 **"Maths," I said.**

 **My ceiling was quite low, so the inspector had to stoop to come in. He wore a lint-colored suit that matched his gray hair and his ashen face. "Now then, Sadie. I'm Chief Inspector Williams. Let's have a chat, shall we? Sit down."**

 **I didn't sit, and neither did he, which must've annoyed him. It's hard to look in charge when you're hunched over like Quasimodo.**

Cue laughs. In the tape recording I always loved the parts Sadie said.

 **"Tell me everything, please," he said, "from the time your father came round to get you."**

 **"I already told the police at the museum."**

 **"Again, if you don't mind."**

 **So I told him everything. Why not? His left eyebrow crept higher and higher as I told him the strange bits like the glowing letters and serpent staff.**

 **"Well, Sadie," Inspector Williams said. "You've got quite an imagination."**

" That is what they always think. " Percy muttered.

 **"I'm not lying, Inspector. And I think your eyebrow is trying to escape."**

More laughter. Lord Hermes tried to inact that only to get smacked by Lady Atremis.

 **He tried to look at his own eyebrows, then scowled. "Now, Sadie, I'm sure this is very hard on you. I understand you want to protect your father's reputation. But he's gone now—"**

 **"You mean through the floor in a coffin," I insisted. "He's not dead."**

 **Inspector Williams spread his hands. "Sadie, I'm very sorry. But we must find out why he did this act of...well..."**

 **"Act of what?"**

 **He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Your father destroyed priceless artifacts and apparently killed himself in the process. We'd very much like to know why."**

" Are you saying I am a terrorist ?" Osiris scowls at the book.

 **I stared at him. "Are you saying my father's a terrorist? Are you mad?"**

" No he is a mortal. "

 **"We've made calls to some of your father's associates. I understand his behavior had become erratic since your mother's death. He'd become withdrawn and obsessive in his studies, spending more and more time in Egypt—"**

" I am a Egytologist."

"Umm, Dad you are talking to a book"

\--

 **"He's a bloody Egyptologist! You should be looking for him, not asking stupid questions!"**

 **"Sadie," he said, and I could hear in his voice that he was resisting the urge to strangle me. Strangely, I get this a lot from adults.**

" That is her charecterstic."

Zia comments. I turn to see why Sadie did not comment back ,only to find her sleeping. _Seems like soomeone is tired using all those magic._

 **"There are extremist groups in Egypt that object to Egyptian artifacts being kept in other countries' museums. These people might have approached your father. Perhaps in his state, your father became an easy target for them. If you've heard him mention any names—"**

 **I stormed past him to the window. I was so angry I could hardly think. I refused to believe Dad was dead. No, no, no. And a terrorist? Please. Why did adults have to be so thick? They always say "tell the truth," and when you do, they don't believe you. What's the point?**

"Exactly."

"Percy, you are talking to the book."

 **I stared down at the dark street. Suddenly that cold tingly feeling got worse than ever. I focused on the dead tree where I'd met Dad earlier. Standing there now, in the dim light of a streetlamp, looking up at me, was the pudgy bloke in the black trench coat and the round glasses and the fedora—the man Dad had called Amos.**

"Wait a second ,you did not remember even your own uncle." Piper asked. Amos shook his head and says " I was forbidden to even meet Julius much less my nephew and niece. " " Who forbid you?" Jason asks. But before Amos could answer, Carter says"It will be told in the story. " I hide a smile at their annoyed expression.

 **I suppose I should've felt threatened by an odd man staring up at me in the dark of night. But his expression was full of concern. And he looked so familiar. It was driving me mad that I couldn't remember why.**

 **Behind me, the inspector cleared his throat. "Sadie, no one blames you for the attack on the museum. We understand you were dragged into this against your will."**

 **I turned from the window. "Against my will? I chained the curator in his office."**

" Which was awesome." Strolls, Hermes and Apollo shouts only to get hit by the people sitting next to them.

 **The inspector's eyebrow started to creep up again.**

 **"Be that as it may, surely you didn't understand what your father meant to do. Possibly your brother was involved?"**

 **I snorted. "Carter? Please."**

" Should I take that as an offense or as a praise? " Carter asks only to get silence in return. Everyone turn towards us to see Sadie sleeping. " Why is she sleeping? It is still evening. "

Reyna asks. " Usage of magic kind of tire us out. She is resting from her excessive use of power. ""Excessive use? " Carter replies" Before coming here we were kind of searching Setne, the guy you saw outside. He is a evil run

-away ghost who can cause quite a lot of destruction. Let us talk about it in next break." Everyone nod their head at that.

 **"So you are determined to protect him as well. You consider him a proper brother, do you?"**

Carter, Julius and Ruby scowl at the book while Percy seems to be lost in thought.

 **I couldn't believe it. I wanted to smack his face. "What's that supposed to mean? Because he doesn't look like me?"**

Their scowl deepens.

 **The inspector blinked. "I only meant—"**

 **"I know what you meant. Of course he's my brother!"**

 **Inspector Williams held up his hands apologetically, but I was still seething. As much as Carter annoyed me, I hated it when people assumed we weren't related, or looked at my father askance when he said the three of us were a family—like we'd done something wrong. Stupid Dr. Martin at the museum. Inspector Williams. It happened every time Dad and Carter and I were together. Every bloody time.**

Everyone looks at Sadie and Carter with sympathy.

 **"I'm sorry, Sadie," the inspector said. "I only want to make sure we separate the innocent from the guilty. It will go much easier for everyone if you cooperate. Any information. Anything your father said. People he might've mentioned."**

 **"Amos," I blurted out, just to see his reaction. "He met a man named Amos."**

" Is she calling me a terrorist. "Amos narrowed his eyes.

 **Inspector Williams sighed. "Sadie, he couldn't have done. Surely you know that. We spoke with Amos not one hour ago, on the phone from his home in New York."**

 **"He isn't in New York!" I insisted. "He's right—"**

 **I glanced out the window and Amos was gone. Bloody typical.**

Greeks'eyes widened.

 **"That's not possible," I said.**

 **"Exactly," the inspector said.**

 **"But he was here!" I exclaimed. "Who is he? One of Dad's colleagues? How did you know to call him?"**

 **"Really, Sadie. This acting must stop."**

 **"Acting?"**

 **The inspector studied me for a moment, then set his jaw as if he'd made a decision. "We've already had the truth from Carter. I didn't want to upset you, but he told us everything. He understands there's no point protecting your father now. You might as well help us, and there will be no charges against you."**

 **"You shouldn't lie to children!" I yelled, hoping my voice carried all the way downstairs. "Carter would never say a word against Dad, and neither will I!"**

" Yep. It did. Everyone was startled at that. "

 **The inspector didn't even have the decency to look embarrassed.**

" He should eat more cereal. " Dementer said. Making everyone jump as she was so quite for so long.

 **He crossed his arms. "I'm sorry you feel that way, Sadie. I'm afraid it's time we went downstairs...to discuss consequences with your grandparents."**

"The Chapter ends. Now who will read next. "Zeus boomed waking up Sadie.


	12. CHAP 11 KIDNAPPED BY A NOT SO STRANGER

**A/N** **Ok I know I promised to publish it earlier, but in my defence , My semester exams are coming and my another story was also lagging behind Hence I had to devote my time their. But thank you for you patience. Also another news, I won't be able to update after this, until** **mid may. Sorry and hoe you like it.**

 **\--xx--**

Chapter 11. Kidnapped by a Not-So-Stranger

 **Annabeth's pov.**

"The Chapter ends. Now who will read next. "Zeus boomed waking up Sadie. "What happened ?" Sadie asked drowsily. " Nothing much. We just finished the chapter with another of Zeus's antics. " Posiedon said sarcastically. "And I believe, we should call it night after next chapter. Is it fine with everyone ? " Hestia asked. Everyone nodded. " Now Zeus hand me the book. "She said to Zeusand rhe book flew in her hand.

 **Chapter 4: Kidnapped by a Not-So-Stranger**

 **I JUST LOVE FAMILY MEETINGS. Very cozy, with the Christmas garlands round the fireplace and a nice pot of tea and a detective from Scotland Yard ready to arrest you.**

We chuckled at that description. I was liking this girl more and more. More so because she reminded me of Percy.

 **Carter slumped on the sofa, cradling Dad's workbag. I wondered why the police had let him keep it.**

"The mortals cannot see it, I presume?"

Sadie nodded.

 **It should have been evidence or something, but the inspector didn't seem to notice it at all.**

 **Carter looked awful—I mean even worse than usual.**

" Excuse me? " Carter exclaimed.

 **Honestly, the boy had never been in a proper school, and he dressed like a junior professor, with his khaki trousers and a button-down shirt and loafers.**

The aforementioned person huffed while we demigods tried not to laugh at his expression.

 **He's not bad looking, I suppose. He's reasonably tall and fit and his hair isn't hopeless. He's got Dad's eyes, and my mates Liz and Emma have even told me from his picture that he's hot,**

Carter looked green.

 **which I must take with a grain of salt because (a) he's my brother, and (b) my mates are a bit crazed. When it came to clothes, Carter wouldn't have known hot if it bit him on the bum.**

I was laughing so hard my stomach ached. Boys even fell on the floor.

 **[Oh, don't look at me like that, Carter. You know it's true.]**

 **At any rate, I shouldn't have been too hard on him. He was taking Dad's disappearance even worse than I was.**

"I was." Carter nodded.

 **Gran and Gramps sat on either side of him, looking quite nervous.**

Ruby perked up as her parents were mentioned.

 **The pot of tea and a plate of biscuits sat on the table, but no one was having any. Chief Inspector Williams ordered me into the only free chair. Then he paced in front of the fireplace importantly. Two more police stood by the front door—the woman from earlier and a big bloke who kept eyeing the biscuits**

"If that bloke eats any of grandma's biscuit ,then the poor guy won't have any teeth left. "Carter said jokingly.

Ruby shook her head fondly.

 **"Mr. and Mrs. Faust," Inspector Williams said, "I'm afraid we have two uncooperative children."**

"As if the police was any cooperative. "

 **Gran fidgeted with the trim of her dress. It's hard to believe she's related to Mum. Gran is frail and colorless, like a stick person really, while Mum in the photos always looked so happy and full of life. "They're just children," she managed. "Surely you can't blame them."**

We raise our eyebrows at that.

 **"Pah!" Gramps said. "This is ridiculous, Inspector. They aren't responsible!"**

 **Gramps is a former rugby player. He has beefy arms, a belly much too big for his shirt, and eyes sunk deep in his face, as if someone had punched them (well, actually Dad had punched them years ago, but that's another story).**

Ruby glared at Lord Osiris making him squirm in his seat.

 **Gramps is quite scary looking.**

Osiris nodded while the other members of Kane family laughed at his expression.

 **Usually people got out of his way, but Inspector Williams didn't seem impressed.**

 **"Mr. Faust," he said, "what do you imagine the morning headlines will read?**

"Breaking news. Fiery bloke was blasted out of Rosetta stone last nifht and kidnapped the famous Egyptologist Julius kane in a coffin . If anyone notices stange coffin shooting out of floor or fiery guys comming out of your loose fireplace bricks, Please don't go to police as they themselves cannot see theseguys and they will think you are crazy. "

Percy said mockingly in a reporter's voice. Everyone was rolling on the floor laughing.

 **'British Museum attacked. Rosetta Stone destroyed.' Your son-in-law—"**

 **"Former son-in-law," Gramps corrected.**

 **"—was most likely vaporized in the explosion, or he ran off, in which case—"**

 **"He didn't run off!" I shouted.**

 **"We need to know where he is," the inspector continued. "And the only witnesses, your grandchildren, refuse to tell me the truth."**

"They just told you the truth. "

 **"We did tell you the truth," Carter said. "Dad isn't dead. He sank through the floor."**

 **Inspector Williams glanced at Gramps, as if to say, There, you see? Then he turned to Carter. "Young man, your father has committed a criminal act. He's left you behind to deal with the consquences—"**

" That is outragerous. " Osiris said.

 **"That's not true!" I snapped, my voice trembling with rage. I couldn't believe Dad would intentionally leave us at the mercy of police, of course. But the idea of him abandoning me—well, as I might have mentioned, that's a bit of a sore point.**

 **"Dear, please," Gran told me, "the inspector is only doing his job."**

 **"Badly!" I said.**

 **Let's all have some tea," Gran suggested.**

 **"No!" Carter and I yelled at once, which made me feel bad for Gran, as she practically wilted into the sofa.**

"Sadie, Carter, stop being so hard on her. "Ruby admonished them softly.

 **"We can charge you," the inspector warned, turning on me. "We can and we will—"**

 **He froze. Then he blinked several times, as if he'd forgotten what he was doing.**

"What happened ?Did you miss something, Lady Hestia?"Percy asked. She shook her head and continued.

 **Gramps frowned. "Er, Inspector?"**

 **"Yes..." Chief Inspector Williams murmured dreamily. He reached in his pocket and took out a little blue booklet—an American passport. He threw it in Carter's lap.**

"What is an American passport doing in a British officer's pocket ?" They simply shrugged.

 **"You're being deported," the inspector announced. "You're to leave the country within twenty-four hours. If we need to question you further, you'll be contacted through the FBI."**

 **Carter's mouth fell open. He looked at me, and I knew I wasn't imagining how odd this was. The inspector had completely changed direction. He'd been about to arrest us. I was sure of it. And then out of the blue, he was deporting Carter?**

"He is being manipulated? " I gasped while Amos nodded.

 **Even the other police officers looked confused.**

 **"Sir?" the policewoman asked. "Are you sure—"**

 **"Quiet, Linley. The two of you may go."**

 **The cops hesitated until Williams made a shooing motion with his hand. Then they left, closing the door behind them.**

 **"Hold on," Carter said. "My father's disappeared, and you want me to leave the country?"**

 **"Your father is either dead or a fugitive, son," the inspector said. "Deportation is the kindest option. It's already been arranged."**

 **"With whom?" Gramps demanded. "Who authorized this?"**

 **"With..." The inspector got that funny blank look again. "With the proper authorities. Believe me, it's better than prison."**

 **Carter looked too devastated to speak, but before I could feel sorry for him, Inspector Williams turned to me. "You, too, miss."**

 **He might as well have hit me with a sledgehammer.**

Leo tried to hit Sadie with a sledgehammer but it turned into ashes. Sadie rolled her eyes and kissed Walt's cheeks, who was glaring at Leo. Leo raised his hand in surrender and went back to his seat.

 **"You're deporting me?" I asked. "I live here!"**

 **"You're an American citizen. And under the circumstances, it's best for you to return home."**

 **I just stared at him. I couldn't remember any home except this flat. My mates at school, my room, everything I knew was here. "Where am I supposed to go?"**

 **"Inspector," Gran said, her voice trembling. "This isn't fair. I can't believe—"**

"Poor mum. "Ruby muttered.

 **"I'll give you some time to say good-bye," the inspector interrupted. Then he frowned as if baffled by his own actions. "I—I must be going."**

 **This made no sense, and the inspector seemed to realize it, but he walked to the front door anyway. When he opened it, I almost jumped out of my chair**

" Why? What happened? " Nico asked.

 **, because the man in black, Amos, was standing there.**

Wow Sadie, you make me sound like a villain." Amos saidsaid sarcastically.

 **He'd lost his trench coat and hat somewhere, but was still wearing the same pinstripe suit and round glasses. His braided hair glittered with gold beads.**

 **I thought the inspector would say something, or express surprise, but he didn't even acknowledge Amos. He walked right past him and into the night.**

" Because I was the one who manipulated the police officer in the first place. " Amos shrugged. Our mouths fell. _They can manipulate others without even speaking. How strong they are ?_

 **Amos came inside and closed the door. Gran and Gramps stood up.**

 **"You," Gramps growled. "I should've known. If I was younger, I would beat you to a pulp."**

 **"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Faust," Amos said. He looked at Carter and me as if we were problems to be solved. "It's time we had a talk."**

"Yep you were. " Amos said while Ruby and Julius glared at him.

 **Amos made himself right at home. He flopped onto the sofa and poured himself tea. He munched on a biscuit, which was quite dangerous, because Gran's biscuits are horrid.**

" Why? What's the matter with your grandma's biscuits." Hestia asked. " They are burnt." "And you can play baseball with it. I know because I have tried it. "The Kane sibling answered.

 **I thought Gramps's head would explode. His face went bright red. He came up behind Amos and raised his hand as if he were about to smack him, but Amos kept munching his biscuit.**

 **"Please, sit down," he told us.**

 **And we all sat. It was the strangest thing—as if we'd been waiting for his order. Even Gramps dropped his hand and moved round the sofa. He sat next to Amos with a disgusted sigh.**

" Amos, you dared to charm my parents. " Ruby asked in a threatening tone. People next to her shifted away while both Hades and Osiris looked uncomfortable. I could understand them as, ghost or not, Ruby was scary.

" Sorry Ruby, I had to ensure you kids safety without getting my handsome face destroyed. "Amos said scaredly. Ruby sat down but still looked angry.

 **Amos sipped his tea and regarded me with some displeasure. That wasn't fair, I thought. I didn't look that bad, considering what we'd been through. Then he looked at Carter and grunted.**

 **"Terrible timing," he muttered. "But there's no other way. They'll have to come with me."**

 **"Excuse me?" I said. "I'm not going anywhere with some strange man with biscuit on his face!"**

Cue laughter. Even Ruby cracked a smile while Amos muttered something along no resrespect for elders.

 **He did in fact have biscuit crumbs on his face, but he apparently didn't care, as he didn't bother to check.**

 **"I'm no stranger, Sadie," he said. "Don't you remember?"**

 **It was creepy hearing him talk to me in such a familiar way. I felt I should know him. I looked at Carter, but he seemed just as mystified as I was.**

" Of course, you would be the house didn't allowed me to meet any of you for 6 years. " Amos said with a huff.

 **"No, Amos," Gran said, trembling. "You can't take Sadie. We had an agreement."**

 **"Julius broke that agreement tonight," Amos said. "You know you can't care for Sadie anymore—not after what's happened. Their only chance is to come with me."**

" As much as I hate to say, Amos was right. You both would have been safe with your uncle. "

 **"Why should we go anywhere with you?" Carter asked. "You almost got in a fight with Dad!"**

 **Amos looked at the workbag in Carter's lap. "I see you kept your father's bag. That's good. You'll need it. As for getting into fights, Julius and I did that quite a lot. If you didn't notice, Carter, I was trying to stop him from doing something rash. If he'd listened to me, we wouldn't be in this situation."**

"If I would have listened to you, the world might not even exist today." Julius replied.

 **I had no idea what he was on about, but Gramps apparently understood.**

 **"You and your superstitions!" he said. "I told you we want none of it."**

 **Amos pointed to the back patio. Through the glass doors, you could see the lights shining on the Thames. It was quite a nice view at night, when you couldn't notice how run-down some of the buildings were.**

 **"Superstition, is it?" Amos asked. "And yet you found a place to live on the east bank of the river."**

" East end! Wait so you live in Brooklyn. " They nodded.

" Is that why we are not allowed to go there. "They again nodded. "But now you can come if you wish to. We won't mind. "Sadie said. We nodded while the fates smiled at us.

 **Gramps turned even redder. "That was Ruby's idea. Thought it would protect us. But she was wrong about many things, wasn't she? She trusted Julius and you, for one!"**

 **Amos looked unfazed. He smelled interesting—like old-timey spices, copal and amber, like the incense shops in Covent Garden.**

 **He finished his tea and looked straight at Gran. "Mrs. Faust, you know what's begun. The police are the least of your worries."**

 **Gran swallowed. "You...you changed that inspector's mind. You made him deport Sadie."**

 **"It was that or see the children arrested," Amos said.**

 **"Hang on," I said. "You changed Inspector Williams's mind? How?"**

 **Amos shrugged. "It's not permanent. In fact we should get to New York in the next hour or so before Inspector Williams begins to wonder why he let you go."**

" ONE HOUR! YOU CAN NEVER REACH NEW YORK FROM ENGLAND IN AN HOUR. " Mom said incredulously.

 **Carter laughed incredulously. "You can't get to New York from London in a hour. Not even the fastest plane—"**

 **"No," Amos agreed. "Not a plane."**

"Then? "Apollo asked.

 **He turned back to Gran as if everything had been settled. "Mrs. Faust, Carter and Sadie have only one safe option. You know that. They'll come to the mansion in Brooklyn. I can protect them there."**

 **"You've got a mansion," Carter said. "In Brooklyn."**

 **Amos gave him an amused smile. "The family mansion. You'll be safe there."**

 **"But our dad—"**

" Is beyond your help. You would have to learn more about your culture to defeat a god child! " Chiron said wisely.

 **"Is beyond your help for now," Amos said sadly. "I'm sorry, Carter. I'll explain later, but Julius would want you to be safe. For that, we must move quickly. I'm afraid I'm all you've got."**

 **That was a bit harsh, I thought. Carter glanced at Gran and Gramps. Then he nodded glumly. He knew that they didn't want him around.**

Ruby's eyes widened.

 **He'd always reminded them of our dad. And yes, it was a stupid reason not to take in your grandson, but there you are.**

She shook her head, tearing up. Carter sat next to her and soothed her. It was quite awkward. Hestia cleared her throat and continued.

 **"Well, Carter can do what he wants," I said. "But I live here. And I'm not going off with some stranger, am I?"**

 **I looked at Gran for support, but she was staring at the lace doilies on the table as if they were suddenly quite interesting.**

 **"Gramps, surely..."**

 **But he wouldn't meet my eyes either. He turned to Amos. "You can get them out of the country?"**

 **"Hang on!" I protested.**

 **Amos stood and wiped the crumbs off his jacket. He walked to the patio doors and stared out at the river. "The police will be back soon. Tell them anything you like. They won't find us."**

 **"You're going to kidnap us?" I asked, stunned. I looked at Carter. "Do you believe this?"**

 **Carter shouldered the workbag. Then he stood like he was ready to go.**

Ruby looked even more sad while akwardness continued.

 **Possibly he just wanted to be out of Gran and Gramps's flat. "How do you plan to get to New York in an hour?" he asked Amos. "You said, not a plane."**

 **"No," Amos agreed. He put his finger to the window and traced something in the condensation—another bloody hieroglyph.**

 **"A boat," I said—then realized I'd translated aloud, which I wasn't supposed to be able to do.**

 **Amos peered at me over the top of his round glasses. "How did you—"**

 **"I mean that last bit looks like a boat," I blurted out. "But that can't be what you mean. That's ridiculous."**

 **"Look!" Carter cried.**

"What? You have a boat? " Leo screamed and babbled about something.

 **I pressed in next to him at the patio doors. Down at the quayside, a boat was docked. But not a regular boat, mind you. It was an Egyptian reed boat, with two torches burning in the front, and a big rudder in the back. A figure in a black trench coat and hat—possibly Amos's—stood at the tiller.**

"That is so old fashioned. You should try modernizing them. " You can guess who said it.

 **I'll admit, for once, I was at a loss for words.**

"O MY HORUS! SADIE WAS AT LOSS OF WORDS. WHY DID'NT YOU CLICKED A PHOTO OF HER FACE. " walt said diffusing the tension in the room as everyone laughed. Sadie punched him while Carter shrugged and said " I qould habe if I had a camera. " " Or a certain Arab was not in his mind. " Sadie teased. Carter glared but before a fight would break out Ruby motioned Hestia to read. Hestia obliged.

 **"We're going in that," Carter said. "To Brooklyn."**

 **"We'd better get started," Amos said.**

 **I whirled back to my grandmother. "Gran, please!"**

 **She brushed a tear from her cheek. "It's for the best, my dear. You should take Muffin."**

" How dare you forgot me. " Bast murmured

 **"Ah, yes," Amos said. "We can't forget the cat."**

 **He turned towards the stairs. As if on cue, Muffin raced down in a leopard-spotted streak and leaped into my arms. She never does that.**

 **"Who are you?" I asked Amos. It was clear I was running out of options, but I at least wanted answers. "We can't just go off with some stranger."**

 **"I'm not a stranger." Amos smiled at me. "I'm family."**

 **And suddenly I remembered his face smiling down at me, saying, "Happy birthday, Sadie." A memory so distant, I'd almost forgotten.**

 **"Uncle Amos?" I asked hazily.**

 **"That's right, Sadie," he said. "I'm Julius's brother. Now come along. We have a long way to go."**

" The chapter ends. " Hestia ended and closed the book. "We all should go to bed .Everyone must be tired. " We nodded. " Demigods and magicans will follow me to their chambers. "Good night. " We said our good night and followed her. (Even though, I knew where we are going.)


	13. Impotant notice

**_Ok everyone. Yahoo exam ended. Time for more fanfiction. next update on Sunday._**


	14. CHAPTER 12 THE NIGHT

**A/N** **Ok everyone as I told you before, my exams ended recently. So here is the new chapter. Sorry it a bit short and Also for the title. I know not my best one. Hope you like it.**

 **\--xx--**

 **Chapter 12: The night.**

 **Prologue.** **(Annabeth's pov)**

" The chapter ends. " Hestia ended and closed the book. "We all should go to bed .Everyone must be tired. " We nodded. " Demigods and magicans will follow me to their chambers. Good night. " We said our good night and followed her. (Even though, I knew where we are going.)

 **Prologue ends**

 **Piper's Pov**

As we followed Lady Hestia through the hall of the palace, I couldn't help notice that none of the magicians looked overwhelmed by all the greek designing. I mean When we came here for the first time, it was kind of scary and impressive at the same time. But rhese guys didn't even look impressed. _Boy, they are good._

I think many of us were thinking along the same lines because Frank asked " Have you ever been to a gods' palace ?" "Yes we have, but why are you intrested. " Carter replied carefully. Hestia threw a look at us but kept on moving. " Just that you don't seem impressed by all this. " Percy asked bluntly waving a hand towards the architecture. Annabeth slapped the back of his head.

Carter snorted. " Our headquarters is also as impressive as your palaces and temples. " Zia told Anabeth's eyes gleamed. " Really! Can I come and see them ? " She asked. " Ya ya Sure anytime but not right now. Currently I feeling sleepy. " Sadie yawned. All the magicians rolled their eyes.

By then we reached a temple which looked more like a mansion than anything. " Ok kids, it is the guest house which Bast and I prepared for you all to stay. We both have taken care of your requirements. " At that all the magicians groaned. I shot them a worried look. " Don't worry there are no cat ammenities in there. I made sure of that." She said in amusement.

" And the night clothes are cutsy of Lady Aphrodite. " Now it was my turn to groan. _Dammit If I knew my mom correctly ,she will be making girls wear lingrie or a transparent nightdress and boys shorts to bed._ Lady Hestia shot me a apologetic look which made me groan internally.

She opened the front door amd we came in a spacious room. One third of it was filled with couches and beanbags placed around a fireplace and a T. v. fitted in the wall above the fireplace. Another third was dinning area with a really long dinning table and big fridge ,enough to fit an elephant. No kidding. Anyways last third was actually a kitchenette which seems more like a misnomer as it had all the latest amminities and was quite large. But well this is guest house for gods. Everything will be of latest technology and king size.

"I know we had quite late lunch or an early dinner if you like to call it so most of you must not be hungry. But still there are some food and drinks in the fridge, for those who would be hungry. Also your bedrooms are in the hallways with your names on it. Lastly, If you need anything Bast and I have rooms in the end of the hallway. " After that Percy, Jason, Leo, Travis, Conner and Grover went away to find some food. While rest of us went in search of our rooms.

I found mine in between Jason and Annabeth s'. I opened it and the first thing I saw was bright pink. Which wasthe colour of the walls. I groaned again and hoped that night ends soon. Taking a shower I changed into the night clothes left there which apparently were also pink night dress with lots of frills. Accepting my fate, I lied down on my bed and soon drifted into Morpheus's realm.

 **Nobody's pov**

Nextday everyone gathered in the meeting hall after having their breakfast, and Bast picked up the to read when suddenly Lady Athena asked " Where is Amos? " " He left last night because of some emergency in our New York headquaters." " What kind of emergency? " Lord Zeus asked suspiciously. " One of our initiates was practicing a donkey exploding spell and our library blew up. " Sadie replied simply. Athena fainted. " Talk about a good start. " Apollo commented making several laugh. "Anyways lets begin the story. " Hera ordered. Bast threw her a dirty glance and started reading.

 **\--xx--**

 **A/N Ok So I was thinking how to come up with an idea to update both stories regularly. And my first idea was to do it on alternate week. But then, I thought you guys won't like so I decided that on every Sunday I will update this story.** **Happy!**

 **Also I read one review who thought I ditched this story .So the answer is no i didn't. I promise. Because I absolutely love the Kane chronicles after Nancy drew and Harry potter.**

 **Lastly hope you liked it. Famous words Please review.**


	15. CHAP 13 WE MET A MONKEY

**A/N** **Ok here we go new chapter.You should be proud of me. I wrote this one in one day. Read and review.**

\--

 **Ruby's pov** **(Didn't see that coming, did ya)**

Bast read,

 **CHAPTER 13 :** **We Meet the Monkey**

"Seriously are all your chapters soo boring. There is no real action in it. I am feeling sleepy." Ares yawned. I glared at him. _My babies' lives are already troubled and all he thinks about is action._ Julius clasped my hand in his to show his support and I smiled at him.

 **IT'S CARTER AGAIN. SORRY.**

"What are you sorry about ? " Jason asked confused

 **We had to turn off the tape for a while because we were being followed by—well, we'll get to that later.**

" Followed by what? " Leo questioned. " Monster Leo, monster. " Piper replied. " I knew it! " Leo beamed while Piper rolled their eyes.

 **Sadie was telling you how we left London, right?**

"Yep" Percy answered.

 **So anyway, we followed Amos down to the weird boat docked at the quayside. I cradled Dad's workbag under my arm. I still couldn't believe he was gone.**

"Yeah I know how it feels!" Percy shuddered.

 **I felt guilty leaving London without him, but I believed Amos about one thing: right now Dad was beyond our help. I didn't trust Amos, but I figured if I wanted to find out what had happened to Dad, I was going to have to go along with him.**

"Well you were sort of right with not trusting Uncle that time." Sadie replied thoughtfully. " Why ? What happened ? " Julius demanded, not at all liking the fact that his kids were not trusting his brother. " In the book dad. " Sadie said smiling innocently. Julius relented to his daughter's charms and relaxed.

 **He was the only one who seemed to know anything.**

"Yes, he did. Sort of. " Julius muttered.

 **Amos stepped aboard the reed boat. Sadie jumped right on, but I hesitated. I'd seen boats like this on the Nile before, and they never seemed very sturdy.**

 **It was basically woven together from coils of plant fiber—like a giant floating rug.**

"Dude, do you still have that boat. I can make some excellent changes to it. " Leo exclaimed.

 **I figured the torches at the front couldn't be a good idea, because if we didn't sink, we'd burn.**

"Being Negetive, aren't we? " Hestia raised her eyebrow.

 **At the back, the tiller was manned by a little guy wearing Amos's black trench coat and hat. The hat was shoved down on his head so I couldn't see his face. His hands and feet were lost in the folds of the coat.**

" Yeah, little guy !" Sadie giggled and Carter smiled.

 **"How does this thing move?" I asked Amos. "You've got no sail."**

" How is that going to move! " Leo's eyes widened.

 **"Trust me." Amos offered me a hand.**

 **The night was cold, but when I stepped on board I suddenly felt warmer, as if the torchlight were casting a protective glow over us. In the middle of the boat was a hut made from woven mats. From Sadie's arms, Muffin sniffed at it and growled.**

A few mouths fell open.

 **"Take a seat inside," Amos suggested. "The trip might be a little rough."**

 **"I'll stand, thanks." Sadie nodded at the little guy in back. "Who's your driver?"**

 **Amos acted as if he hadn't heard the question. "Hang on, everyone!" He nodded to the steersman, and the boat lurched forward.**

" It always is, not only the first time. But you will soon adjust to it. " I told them.

 **The feeling was hard to describe. You know that tingle in the pit of your stomach when you're on a roller coaster and it goes into free fall? It was kind of like that, except we weren't falling, and the feeling didn't go away. The boat moved with astounding speed. The lights of the city blurred, then were swallowed in a thick fog. Strange sounds echoed in the dark: slithering and hissing, distant screams, voices whispering in languages I didn't understand.**

" Ancient Egyptian. Those languages are only used by gods. " Isis told everyone.

 **The tingling turned to nausea. The sounds got louder, until I was about to scream myself. Then suddenly the boat slowed. The noises stopped, and the fog dissipated. City lights came back, brighter than before.**

 **Above us loomed a bridge, much taller than any bridge in London. My stomach did a slow roll. To the left, I saw a familiar skyline—the Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building.**

"Impossible! " Several people muttered at the same time. " How... is that... " Annabeth seemed stunned. I stiffled my laugh at their expressions. They looked shocked and confused.

 **"Impossible," I said. "That's New York."**

Greeks nodded.

 **Sadie looked as green as I felt. She was still cradling Muffin, whose eyes were closed. The cat seemed to be purring. "It can't be," Sadie said. "We only traveled a few minutes."**

They again nodded.

 **And yet here we were, sailing up the East River, right under the Williamsburg Bridge. We glided to a stop next to a small dock on the Brooklyn side of the river. In front of us was an industrial yard filled with piles of scrap metal and old construction equipment. In the center of it all, right at the water's edge, rose a huge factory warehouse heavily painted with graffiti, the windows boarded up.**

" That's your mansion? " Piper aksed bewildered.

 **"That is not a mansion," Sadie said. Her powers of perception are really amazing.**

" Thanks Carter. " "It was a sarcasm. " " Hey! " Sadie huffed.

 **"Look again." Amos pointed to the top of the building.**

 **"How...how did you..." My voice failed me.**

"Please don't tell me you have a mansion upon a warehouse! " Travis exclaimed.

 **I wasn't sure why I hadn't seen it before, but now it was obvious: a five-story mansion perched on the roof of the warehouse, like another layer of a cake. "You couldn't build a mansion up there!"**

 **"Long story," Amos said. "But we needed a private location."**

 **"And is this the east shore?" Sadie asked. "You said something about that in London—my grandparents living on the east shore."**

 **Amos smiled. "Yes. Very good, Sadie. In ancient times, the east bank of the Nile was always the side of the living, the side where the sun rises. The dead were buried west of the river. It was considered bad luck, even dangerous, to live there. The tradition is still strong among...our people."**

 **"Our people?" I asked, but Sadie muscled in with another question.**

" Egyptians, duh !" Conner stated. Sadie glared at him.

 **"So you can't live in Manhattan?" she asked.**

 **Amos's brow furrowed as he looked across at the Empire State Building. "Manhattan has other problems. Other gods. It's best we stay separate."**

" Yes it is true. Greeks live in Manhatten. " Chiron told us. " So that was what he meant by 'other gods' " Carter mused.

 **"Other what?" Sadie demanded.**

 **"Nothing." Amos walked past us to the steersman. He plucked off the man's hat and coat—and there was no one underneath.**

Again several Greeks had their jaws on the floor. " That. is. so. cool. " Leo exclaimed and begged to Carter, "Will you teach me ho you did that, please please please..." "Ok ok, I will think about it. We still don't know what will happen if we mix Greek and Egptian ways of fighting ? So it could be dangerous. You know !" Carter said seriously ,trying to discourage this idea. " That is an excellent idea ! We should totally have a match. That way we could help each other with our powers as well as combat techniques. " Athena remarked already lost in her thoughts while Carter groaned.

 **The steersman simply wasn't there. Amos put on his fedora, folded his coat over his arm, then waved toward a metal staircase that wound all the way up the side of the warehouse to the mansion on the roof.**

 **"All ashore," he said. "And welcome to the Twenty-first Nome."**

" What the heck is nome? " Percy asked. Sadie pointed to the book.

 **"Gnome?" I asked, as we followed him up the stairs. "Like those little runty guys?"**

 **"Heavens, no," Amos said. "I hate gnomes. They smell horrible."**

"Your uncle has smelled them? " Thalia asked Sadie bewildered.

 **"But you said—"**

 **"Nome, n-o-m-e. As in a district, a region. The term is from ancient times, when Egypt was divided into forty-two provinces. Today, the system is a little different. We've gone global. The world is divided into three hundred and sixty nomes. Egypt, of course, is the First. Greater New York is the Twenty-first."**

" How come they are global and we are not? " Lacy asked for the forst time making people around her to jump a little. " Sweety, as much as I love you sentiments, I think you know that we gods are not so virile to have that many kids and send them to different parts of the world, much less all the countries. " Other Greek gods and goddesses tried to stifle their laughter as poor Lacy blushed to the tip of the roots of her hair.

 **Sadie glanced at me and twirled her finger around her temple.**

Several people fought back their chuckle.

 **"No, Sadie," Amos said without looking back. "I'm not crazy. There's much you need to learn."**

 **We reached the top of the stairs. Looking up at the mansion, it was hard to understand what I was seeing. The house was at least fifty feet tall, built of enormous limestone blocks and steel-framed windows. There were hieroglyphs engraved around the windows, and the walls were lit up so the place looked like a cross between a modern museum and an ancient temple. But the weirdest thing was that if I glanced away, the whole building seemed to disappear. I tried it several times just to be sure. If I looked for the mansion from the corner of my eye, it wasn't there. I had to force my e** **yes to refocus on it, and even that took a lot of willpower.**

Annabeth looked dazzeled by the description. She turned to Carter with pleading eyes, Percy hid a smile, and said " I wish to se it, please please please... "

Poor Carter shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He looked away to notice Athena giving him a bit similar expression except hers had a menacing glare included as if to say _Say yes or I will gut you._

Sadie, bless her soul, came to his rescue right then and told them " We will think about the offer but at one cost. " They nodded. " Sure, whatever you ask ?" Sadie ,Carter,Zia and Walt hurdled together and discussed for few minutes. They the broke the group and turned towards the demigods and Greek gods.

"We have three conditions. First, on the visit, you wil not harm or behave rudely to any of the initiates." Zia stated. "Don't worry, we will also make sure that they will not harm you. Most of them are harmless pranksters. But still we don't want to have your wrath on our heads. We already have a lot of load on our heads. " Walt added.

" Secondly, We wish to see your head quaters. I don't think it is this one with all these flashy temples and parks. So if you wish to see ours, then we should also get to see yours. " Sadie demanded.

"Last wish is I want you to re-think about the 'fight' you wanted with us. "

Athena opened her mouth to argue but Carter cut her off, " I know, I may sounds a bit incapacitated, but truth is I don't know anything about you guys. Neither do you, how much you wish to think you do. So my wish is to keep the idea of friendly match between both the parthogens for some other time. Got it? " He finished.

Athena studied him. At last she nodded her head and said " As much as I wish to disagree with you, I think you are correct. " Then she looked at Zeus.

" All in favour. " All the gods raised their hands. " Then it is decided we will visit the 21st nome while they will come to camp half blood for a visit. It will be a friendly visit and no one will harm anyone one. " Zeus finished.

"I think we should finalize this deal after this chapter. " Hestia sugessted. Everyone nodded.

 **Amos stopped before the entrance, which was the size of a garage door—a dark heavy square of timber with no visible handle or lock. "Carter, after you."**

 **"Um, how do I—"**

 **"How do you think?"**

"Using his brain! " Will frowned. "Is he telling you to bang your head on the door? " Carter snorted.

 **Great, another mystery. I was about to suggest we ram Amos's head against it and see if that worked. Then I looked at the door again, and I had the strangest feeling. I stretched out my arm. Slowly, without touching the door, I raised my hand and the door followed my movement—sliding upward until it disappeared into the ceiling.**

"Wow... "

 **Sadie looked stunned. "How..."**

 **"I don't know," I admitted, a little embarrassed. "Motion sensor, maybe?"**

" Could be. " Leo looked excited.

 **"Interesting." Amos sounded a little troubled. "Not the way I would've done it, but very good. Remarkably good."**

 **"Thanks, I think."**

 **Sadie tried to go inside first, but as soon as she stepped on the threshold, Muffin wailed and almost clawed her way out of Sadie's arms.**

 **Sadie stumbled backward. "What was that about, cat?"**

"Your cat has a name, you know! " Bast glared at Sadie.

 **"Oh, of course," Amos said. "My apologies." He put his hand on the cat's head and said, very formally, "You may enter."**

" You give animals so much respect! " Grover cried.

 **"The cat needs permission?" I asked.**

 **"Special circumstances," Amos said, which wasn't much of an explanation, but he walked inside without saying another word. We followed, and this time Muffin stayed quiet.**

 **"Oh my god..." Sadie's jaw dropped. She craned her neck to look at the ceiling, and I thought the gum might fall out of her mouth.**

 **"Yes," Amos said. "This is the Great Room."**

" That is exact word for it."

 **I could see why he called it that. The cedar-beamed ceiling was four stories high, held up by carved stone pillars engraved with hieroglyphs. A weird assortment of musical instruments and Ancient Egyptian weapons decorated the walls. Three levels of balconies ringed the room, with rows of doors all looking out on the main area. The fireplace was big enough to park a car in, with a plasma-screen TV above the mantel and massive leather sofas on either side. On the floor was a snakeskin rug, except it was forty feet long and fifteen feet wide—bigger than any snake.**

" Other than one. " Carter muttered.

 **Outside, through glass walls, I could see the terrace that wrapped around the house. It had a swimming pool, a dining area, and a blazing fire pit. And at the far end of the Great Room was a set of double doors marked with the Eye of Horus, and chained with half a dozen padlocks. I wondered what could possibly be behind them.**

" Jail ? A big cursed place with tons of secret? " Thalia mused. " A library. " Sadie stated making her choke on her breath.

 **But the real showstopper was the statue in the center of the Great Room. It was thirty feet tall, made of black marble. I could tell it was of an Egyptian god because the figure had a human body and an animal's head—like a stork or a crane, with a long neck and a really long beak.**

 **The god was dressed ancient-style in a kilt, sash, and neck collar. He held a scribe's stylus in one hand, and an open scroll in the other, as if he had just written the hieroglyphs inscribed there: an ankh—the Egyptian looped cross—with a rectangle traced around its top.**

 **"That's it!" Sadie exclaimed. "Per Ankh."**

 **I stared at her in disbelief. "All right, how you can read that?"**

"Someone is jealous." Sadie remarked.

 **"I don't know," she said. "But it's obvious, isn't it? The top one is shaped like the floor plan of a house."**

 **"How did you get that? It's just a box." The thing was, she was right. I recognized the symbol, and it was supposed to be a simplified picture of a house with a doorway, but that wouldn't be obvious to most people, especially people named Sadie. Yet she looked absolutely positive.**

" Hey! I take that as an insult."Sadie glared at Carter.

 **"It's a house," she insisted. "And the bottom picture is the ankh, the symbol for life. Per Ankh—the House of Life."**

 **"Very good, Sadie." Amos looked impressed. "And this is a statue of the only god still allowed in the House of Life—at least, normally. Do you recognize him, Carter?"**

 **Just then it clicked: the bird was an ibis, an Egyptian river bird. "Thoth," I said. "The god of knowledge. He invented writing."**

" Yep, that's me! " Throth cheered.

 **"Indeed," Amos said.**

 **"Why the animal heads?" Sadie asked. "All those Egyptian gods have animal heads. They look so silly."**

All the Egyptian gods glared at Sadie while Greek ones laughed.

 **"They don't normally appear that way," Amos said. "Not in real life."**

 **"Real life?" I asked. "Come on. You sound like you've met them in person."**

" You just met one that night." Zia pointed out.

 **Amos's expression didn't reassure me. He looked as if he were remembering something unpleasant. "The gods could appear in many forms—usually fully human or fully animal, but occasionally as a hybrid form like this. They are primal forces, you understand, a sort of bridge between humanity and nature. They are depicted with animal heads to show that they exist in two different worlds at once. Do you understand?"**

" A little. "Annabeth muttered.

 **"Not even a little," Sadie said.**

 **"Mmm." Amos didn't sound surprised. "Yes, we have much training to do.**

" Not that we did any. " Carter looked amused.

 **At any rate, the god before you, Thoth, founded the House of Life, for which this mansion is the regional headquarters. Or at least...it used to be. I'm the only member left in the Twenty-first Nome. Or I was, until you two came along."**

 **"Hang on." I had so many questions I could hardly think where to start.**

" So do we? " All the demigods shouted.

 **"What is the House of Life? Why is Thoth the only god allowed here, and why are you—"**

 **"Carter, I understand how you feel." Amos smiled sympathetically. "But these things are better discussed in daylight. You need to get some sleep, and I don't want you to have nightmares."**

 **"You think I can sleep?"**

 **"Mrow." Muffin stretched in Sadie's arms and let loose a huge yawn.**

" Leave it to muffin to change the topic. " I laughed.

 **Amos clapped his hands. "Khufu!"**

 **I thought he'd sneezed, because Khufu is a weird name, but then a little dude about three feet tall with gold fur and a purple shirt came clambering down the stairs.**

" A dude with fur? " Grover looked confused.

 **It took me a second to realize it was a baboon wearing an L.A. Lakers jersey.**

 **The baboon did a flip and landed in front of us. He showed off his fangs and made a sound that was half roar, half belch. His breath smelled like nacho-flavored Doritos.**

" Ewwww" Aphrodite sprayed some perfume in the air.

 **All I could think to say was, "The Lakers are my home team!"**

" Yeah, so much of basketball. " Carter muttered.

 **The baboon slapped his head with both hands and belched again.**

 **"Oh, Khufu likes you," Amos said. "You'll get along famously."**

" Amos is a baboon wisperer !" Grover was stunned.

 **"Right." Sadie looked dazed. "You've got a monkey butler. Why not?"**

" That is awesome. I want a monkey butler too. " Travis and Conner exclaimed.

 **Muffin purred in Sadie's arms as if the baboon didn't bother her at all.**

 **"Agh!" Khufu grunted at me.**

 **Amos chuckled. "He wants to go one-on-one with you, Carter. To, ah, see your game."**

" A butler baboon who can also play basketball ! Awesome. " Apollo shouted.

 **I shifted from foot to foot. "Um, yeah. Sure. Maybe tomorrow. But how can you understand—"**

 **"Carter, I'm afraid you'll have a lot to get used to," Amos said. "But if you're going to survive and save your father, you have to get some rest."**

 **"Sorry," Sadie said, "did you say 'survive and save our father'? Could you expand on that?"**

 **"Tomorrow," Amos said. "We'll begin your orientation in the morning. Khufu, show them to their rooms, please."**

" Grown-ups." Percy muttered.

 **"Agh-uhh!" the baboon grunted. He turned and waddled up the stairs. Unfortunately, the Lakers jersey didn't completely cover his multicolored rear.**

" Bad mental image ,Carter !"

 **We were about to follow when Amos said, "Carter, the workbag, please. It's best if I lock it in the library."**

 **I hesitated. I'd almost forgotten the bag on my shoulder, but it was all I had left of my father. I didn't even have our luggage because it was still locked up at the British Museum. Honestly, I'd been surprised that the police hadn't taken the workbag too, but none of them seemed to notice it.**

"They can't see it. " Julius nodded.

 **"You'll get it back," Amos promised. "When the time is right."**

 **He asked nicely enough, but something in his eyes told me that I really didn't have a choice.**

 **I handed over the bag. Amos took it gingerly, as if it were full of explosives.**

" It is " Sadie shrugged.

 **"See you in the morning." He turned and strode toward the chained-up doors. They unlatched themselves and opened just enough for Amos to slip through without showing us anything on the other side. Then the chains locked again behind him.**

 **I looked at Sadie, unsure what to do. Staying by ourselves in the Great Room with the creepy statue of Thoth didn't seem like much fun, so we followed Khufu up the stairs.**

" CREEPY! My statue is not creepy ! Thank you very much. " Throth huffed.

 **Sadie and I got adjoining rooms on the third floor, and I've got to admit, they were way cooler than any place I'd ever stayed before.**

 **I had my own kitchenette, fully stocked with my favorite snacks: ginger ale—[No, Sadie. It's not an old person's soda! Be quiet!]—Twix, and Skittles. It seemed impossible. How did Amos know what I liked?** **The TV, computer, and stereo system were totally high-tech. The bathroom was stocked with my regular brand of toothpaste, deodorant, everything. The king-size bed was awesome, too, though the pillow was a little strange. Instead of a cloth pillow, it was an ivory headrest like I'd seen in Egyptian tombs. It was decorated with lions and (of course) more hieroglyphs.**

" I love the room, other than the pillow. "

 **The room even had a deck that looked out on New York Harbor, with views of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty in the distance, but the sliding glass doors were locked shut somehow. That was my first indication that something was wrong.**

" Uuhh ,that is suspicious. "

 **I turned to look for Khufu, but he was gone. The door to my room was shut. I tried to open it, but it was locked.**

 **A muffled voice came from the next room. "Carter?"**

 **"Sadie." I tried the door to her adjoining room, but it was locked too.**

 **"We're prisoners," she said. "Do you think Amos...I mean, can we trust him?"**

" I wished then, that I could. But he was acting so suspiciously. And everything was so confusing. I doubted even myself. " Carter confessed.

"Everyone has their own share of bad times. When I came to my own heritage as a demigod, I was so confused and scared and a bit angry at gods, especially father, I almost left the camp to join the enemy lines. But well my fatal flae, which is loyalty, saved me. That is why, I am here and not dead. " Percy told us.

The other demigods and gods looked astonished and a bit worried for their friend/ hero. " What? Don't look at me like that. It was years ago. I was just 12 and unfamiliar with this world. It was easy to sway me, but well I stayed. and that matters. "

" That is exactly what matters. In the war we fought there were times when we thought that maybe we should surrender. The only thought that made me move forward was that I had people who depends on me . And I couldn't let them down. I couldn't loose them again. " He threw a look at sadie which no one caught other than Percy and I. "Seems like we have a lot in common, buddy. " Percy beamed at Carter.

I realized one thing. _Everyone has their own shortcomings. But the ones on the top move over them and look at the bigger picture._

 **After all I'd seen today, I didn't trust anything, but I could hear the fear in Sadie's voice. It triggered an unfamiliar feeling in me, like I needed to reassure her. The idea seemed ridiculous. Sadie had always seemed so much braver than me—doing what she wanted, never caring about the consequences. I was the one who got scared. But right now, I felt like I needed to play a role I hadn't played in a long, long time: big brother.**

" Ever since then, the big brother-protective syndrome began. " Walt sighed. Carter glared at him and Sadie chuckled. It was so satisfying to see my kids being siblings even after all the drama ,years ago.

 **"It'll be okay." I tried to sound confident. "Look, if Amos wanted to hurt us, he could've done it by now. Try to get some sleep."**

 **"Carter?"**

 **"Yeah?"**

 **"It was magic, wasn't it? What happened to Dad at the museum. Amos's boat. This house. All of it's magic."**

" Yes, it was, Sadie.Yes it was. " Zia confirmed.

 **"I think so."**

 **I could hear her sigh. "Good. At least I'm not going mad."**

" If you are. So are we. "

 **"Don't let the bedbugs bite," I called. And I realized I hadn't said that to Sadie since we had lived together in Los Angeles, when Mom was still alive.**

Julius and I winced at the reminder but our kids had a happy smile on their faces.

 **"I miss Dad," she said. "I hardly ever saw him, I know, but...I miss him."**

Julius looked down. I held his hand in my to reassure him what he did was correct.

 **My eyes got a little teary, but I took a deep breath. I was not going to go all weak. Sadie needed me. Dad needed us.**

 **"We'll find him," I told her. "Pleasant dreams."**

 **I listened, but the only thing I heard was Muffin meowing and scampering around, exploring her new space. At least she didn't seem unhappy.**

" Well at least the cat is happy. " Grover pointed. " You have really good sense of perspective, Grover." Sadie replied sarcastically. He blushed while Percy and Carter chuckled.

 **I got ready for bed and crawled in. The covers were comfortable and warm, but the pillow was just too weird. It gave me neck cramps, so I put it on the floor and went to sleep without it.**

"That was a huge mistake ,Carter. " " But how can you sleep with that thing under your head? " demigods looked confused. "It is given in next chapter. "

 **My first big mistake.**

"Told ya. " I sang. " And the end of the chapter. Now where we, yes we were discussing about the tours to each others places, yes?" Bast asked. " Firstly, I have some questions? "...

 **\--xx--**

 **And The End.Yahoo. One of the longest days of my life. Anyways I have some questions for you. First where do you. want our heroes to visit Camp half blood, Camp jupitar, 21st nome , The first nome or all the four ?**

 **Secondly, Do wish to see more of Setne or some other old enemy should enter the story?**

 **Third How did you like Ruby's pov? Want ot more or less? Should I do more pov's of gods or demigods?**

 **Do you wish to see Amos again or any other charecter I have not involved?**

 **I have so many ideas that my head is buzzing with it.**

 **Lastly my all famous words review. And tell your answers to me. I am waiting for them.**


	16. Chap 14 THE DISCUSSION

**A/N** **So, I love your reviews. Even though, I think in some place you have to be more specific about your wishes and some were not exactly correct as I have already done Lady Hestia's pov and she is a goddess so... Anyway ,New chap ! Read and review.**

 **\--xx--**

 **CHAPTER 14:** **The discussion**

 **Athena's pov.**

" And the end of the chapter. Now where we, yes we were discussing about the tours to each others places, yes?" Bast asked. " Firstly, I have some questions? " Carter asked."We have two major headquaters, more like one is the headquater the real headquarter of magicians in Egypt while another one is the headquarter of us Kanes in the brooklyn, which was just mentioned in the book? When are we going to visit them ? Where is your base in Manhattan ? "Carter fired questions one after the other.

We all looked at him surprised because we have never seen him this excited . Even his friends looked astonished by his behaviour. " Carter ," Zia said hesitantly ," are you feeling alright ?" "Yeah, did you and somehow swapped bodies or something? " Walt frowned at the siblings.

Sadie snorted and carter blushed. "As if ! " Sadie replied. "Carter loves to know things. This is his I-want-to-know-more mode." Sadie shrugged as if this was totally normal for her. Carter glared at her. We all stifled our chuckles.

" Now back to my questions? Is anyone going to answer them or should I cancel the whole event ?" Carter asked annoyed. Most of the greek gods narrowed our eyes at him. That kid is a lot like Percy Jackson.

Not knowing when to open his mouth and how to talk to gods. The Egyptian's won't take it in a good way otherwise I would have already burned him and his sister in ashes. Being kids of the great Julius Kane also came in their favour. I turned towards Julius and thought. _If only we could have a kid._ And then I glared at his dead wife's soul with the thought _.If only that mortal was not in his life._

I wrinkled my nose at all the lovey stuff they were doing and turned back to their kids. That was when the son of

Jupitar spoke up. "I think we should visit all the four places .We are divided into Greeks and roman with our bases Camp half blood and Camp jupitar. One is in Manhatten and anothe in San Francisco. So if you wish we can show you both. " The magicians eyes lit up.

"Awesome ! Then we should totally show you the first nome and the twenty first nome." Bes exclaimed in excitement. I cleared my throat and said "I think you all are missing some minor details in this plan. When and How? When are we going for visitation and How are we going to reach the destinations ,especially Egypt ?"

"Can't you just snap you fingers and transport us there ? " Piper questioned. "Or throw Agro 2, with us inside it ,in the sky from here and we land straight in Egypt." The seven turned green at Conner's suggestion. "Looking at your friends' reaction ,it think it that idea should be used for another time."

Then I turned to Piper ,"And no Piper we cannot snap our fingers and transport you there. Greek gods are not allowed to enter Egypt for same reasons Egyptians avoid Manhattan. Because they have different parthogens. Anyother suggestions."

LLeo raised his hand" Argo 2. not the throwing part. But we can still travel throw air and water."This time Annabeth shook her head."No Leo,we all cannot travel through Agro 2. It doesn't have capacity to hold so many people much less gods."

The magicians were watching silently as the ideas were discussed and discarded. Atlast Sadie said "Qhy don't you use our way of travelling. Through portals."" Through what now--" "Portals the magical doors we used to come here. They can take you anywhere. Well almost anywhere."Zia told us with a shrug.

 _Well ,this could be their plan to kidnap us or something and defeat our parthogen..._ "Don't over think it Lady Athena ,if it was a plan to destroy your parthogen ,they wouldn't have agreed to the match in first place then to visit their home base and see how their powers work."Julius told me.

 _Damn it , he is too cute when he explains things._ Even my sensible part agrees with him and I nod at that. The demigods cheer.

"One problem solved. Now the other one. When are we going to visit these places and in what sequence ?" Reyna said thoughtfully.

" I think I have an answer to that. After lunch , which is in four to five hours we read one last chapter ,which will take like an hour or three quaters , then we use one of these portals and visit anyone of the places. Similarly , the next day we will visit another place. So in four days we will finish this entire thing. What do you say?" My Annabeth replies. Carter nods.

"That sound pretty good plan . As for in which order, I think it should be first 21st nome , because you guys wanted to see it , then Camo Half blood . Third would be Camp Jupiter and Lastly 1st nome as it is farthest from us."

"Now that sounds like a good idea. Now shall we continue." Hestia asked giving the book to Julius.

 **\--xx--**

 **A/N Ok, Athena having a crush on Julius is totally justified. I mean AAthena is goddess of Knowledge and Julius is a word famous egyptologist and a damn handsome man. How could she not think about him in that sense. Even I think of him as Alfred Enoch or Michael James Shaw.**

 **Lastly sorry for the small chapter but I am suffering from a heat stroke. Ugghh. It is so hot in India. Now you get it why I fell asleep writing the last edition of Ad entures of Percy jackson. Lastly please review and pray for my good health. Happy reading.**


	17. Chap 15 breakfast with a croc part 1

**A/N Ok I was asked if my health is good or not. For those concerned ones, I should say thank you. I am totally fine. I just didn't wrote an update last week because I thought that maybe I am writing and updating too fast. Please tell me if you are unable to folow me through.**

 **As if you can follow please provide your ideas and reviews on the chapter.** **I love them all and they provide me with new ideas. Like there was a person** **Thunderwolf7226** **who gave me some of the ideas I will use in future chapters. I think you guys will like it. So I want more reviews and you more of your thought. Please send them.**

 **\--xx--**

 **Chapter 15: Breakfast with a Crocodile**

 **part 1**

 **Drew's pov.**

I have to say these bonding reading sessions are so boring. I mean seriously, had it not been the handsome brother of Sadie, I would have left this place last night. And had it not that c _ough_ bitchy _cough_ Zia, Carter would have already been mine . And these stupid reading sessions would have come to an end. After all who wishes a bad relationship with his girlfriend's family.

Heck even Percy act as a obedient one in front of Lady Athena. Not that he and Annabeth are having a good relationship. What with Annabeth's I- am-the-smartest attitude. _Like mother , Like Daughter._ And I think the wars have taken troll on them. Being a daughter of Aphrodite ,I can guess that this is relationship is more Percy then Annabeth. And truthfully , unlike mom, I am no fan of Percabeth.

Ok back to topic, sorry I kind of got lost with all the sad feelings coming from Percy, Lord Osiris read.

 **Chapter 6. Breakfast with a Crocodile**

"You have a Crocodile??" " Yep, Albino , Philip of Macadonia." "Cool !"

 **HOW TO DESCRIBE IT? Not a nightmare. It was much more real and frightening.**

 **As I slept, I felt myself go weightless. I drifted up, turned, and saw my own sleeping form below.**

" Did you just died? How is that possible ?" Annabeth looked astonished. " Well ,I think it is given in the book."

 **I'm dying, I thought. But that wasn't it, either. I wasn't a ghost. I had a new shimmering golden form with wings instead of arms. I was some kind of bird. [No, Sadie, not a chicken. Will you let me tell the story, please?]**

" That's weird. I never heard of someone becoming a chicken in his sleep. Maybe in his dreams but never in his sleep." Thalia looked amused.

 **I knew I wasn't dreaming, because I don't dream in color. I certainly don't dream in all five senses. The room smelled faintly of jasmine.**

" You smelled Jazz." Sadie asked Carter anusement dancing in her eyes. Carter blushed while Zia looked annoyed. I also couldn't help feel jealous at this Jazz. " No Sadie , Jasmine is a flower. Mom's perfume smelled like Jasmine." Carter responded ,smiling at Ruby.

Ruby looked close tears. " Hah! That wimp is a mommy's boy. Who even remembers his mother's scent. Bah!" Lord Ares snorted. Percy blushed. " Holy Hera! Percy Jackson likes to memorialize his mother's scent. " The seven looked astonished. Even Annabeth looked a bit sad and echanged looks with Zia.

 **I could hear the carbonation bubbles pinging in the can of ginger ale I'd opened on my nightstand. I could feel a cold wind ruffling through my feathers, and I realized the windows were open. I didn't want to leave, but a strong current pulled me out of the room like a leaf in a storm.**

 **The lights of the mansion faded below me. The skyline of New York blurred and disappeared. I shot through the mist and darkness, strange voices whispering all around me. My stomach tingled as it had earlier that night on Amos's barge. Then the mist cleared, and I was in a different place.**

"That sounds suspiciously like the boat ride." Reyna commented.

 **I floated above a barren mountain. Far below, a grid of city lights stretched across the valley floor. Definitely not New York. It was nighttime, but I could tell I was in the desert. The wind was so dry, the skin on my face was like paper.**

" Is the place somewhere in Sonoran desert ? " Annabeth asked but no one answered as everyone was too busy with the story.

 **And I know that doesn't make sense, but my face felt like my normal face, as if that part of me hadn't transformed into a bird. [Fine, Sadie. Call me the Carter-headed chicken. Happy?]**

That made everyone smile. " Leave it to Sadie to crack a joke even in the most serious situations." Nico said with a smile. _Yeah , Sadie is a clown!!_

 **Below me on a ridge stood two figures. They didn't seem to notice me, and I realized I wasn't glowing anymore. In fact I was pretty much invisible, floating in the darkness. I couldn't make out the two figures clearly, except to recognize that they weren't human. Staring harder, I could see that one was short, squat, and hairless, with slimy skin that glistened in the starlight—like an amphibian standing on its hind legs.**

"Ewww." Mother wrinkled her nose. Which seemed right as that did sounded ugly. " Demons." Carter shrugged his powerful shoulders. " Well at least we have one thing in common. Ugly monsters and demons." Percy replied with a laugh. _Dammit their bromance is so hot._

 **The other was tall and scarecrow skinny, with rooster claws instead of feet. I couldn't see his face very well, but it looked red and moist and...well, let's just say I was glad I couldn't see it better.**

" You got kidnapped by demons in your sleep. " Lacy asked worried. Zia send her a keep-your-hands-away-

from-my-boyfriend-or-else look her way _. Not so long, sweety._

 **"Where is he?" the toadie-looking one croaked nervously.**

 **"Hasn't taken a permanent host yet," the rooster-footed guy chided. "He can only appear for a short time."**

 **"You're sure this is the place?"**

 **"Yes, fool! He'll be here as soon—"**

 **A fiery form appeared on the ridge. The two creatures fell to the ground, groveling in the dirt, and I prayed like crazy that I really was invisible.**

Everyone shifted forward to know more about this newcomer.

 **"My lord!" the toad said.**

 **Even in the dark, the newcomer was hard to see—just the silhouette of a man outlined in flames.**

 **"What do they call this place?" the man asked. And as soon as he spoke, I knew for sure he was the guy who'd attacked my dad at the British Museum.**

"Of course, Lord Set is god of chaos so demons would be his minions!" Annabeth threw her hands in air with a look that said _why didnt I thought about that._

 **All the fear I'd felt at the museum came rushing back, paralyzing me. I remembered trying to pick up that stupid rock to throw, but I hadn't been able to do even that. I'd completely failed my dad.**

" No you didn't, son." Julius looked fondly at his son.

 **"My lord," Rooster Foot said. "The mountain is called Camelback. The city is called Phoenix."**

" Told you! Hah Phoenix _is_ a city in sonoran desert." " No one contradicted you ,Annabeth."I rolled my eyes at her.

She huffed and turned away

 **The fiery man laughed—a booming sound like thunder. "Phoenix. How appropriate! And the desert so much like home. All it needs now is to be scoured of life. The desert should be a sterile place, don't you think?"**

" That sounds appalling." Hazel commented.

 **"Oh yes, my lord," the toadie agreed. "But what of the other four?"**

 **"One is already entombed," the fiery man said. "The second is weak. She will be easily manipulated. That leaves only two. And they will be dealt with soon enough."**

" Whom are you talking about?" " My idiotic family!" Lord Set rolled his eyes.

We looked confused.

 **"Er...how?" the toadie asked.**

 **The fiery man glowed brighter. "You are an inquisitive little tadpole, aren't you?" He pointed at the toad and the poor creature's skin began to steam.**

 **"No!" the toadie begged. "No-o-o-o!"**

 **I could hardly watch. I don't want to describe it. But if you've heard what happens when cruel kids pour salt on snails, you'll have a pretty good idea of what happened to the toadie. Soon there was nothing left.**

" This will be the first time I am saying this but I pity that monster." Grover said then he turned towards Lord Set and stated " and you require to control your temper. Seriously ,it is worst than Lord Ares. But it comes third after Lord Poseidon and Percy."

 **Rooster Foot took a nervous step back. I couldn't blame him.**

 **"We will build my temple here," the fiery man said, as if nothing had happened. "This mountain shall serve as my place of worship. When it is complete, I will summon the greatest storm ever known. I will cleanse everything. Everything."**

"Uughh. Last time he did that. Sahara was formed." Lady Isis told us. My eyes widened.

 **"Yes, my lord," Rooster Foot agreed quickly. "And, ah, if I may suggest, my lord, to increase your power..." The creature bowed and scraped and moved forward, as if he wanted to whisper in the fiery man's ear.**

 **Just when I thought Rooster Foot was going to become fried chicken for sure,**

"Which type of fried chicken would he be- crispy, hot and crunchy, Golden one or my favourite those indian style with hot sauce. Yummy! " That was Travis." I doubt you would want to eat a fried chicken who has devored several humans. Or that he would taste anything the ones you listed, Travis. " Zia had a wierd out look on her face. Poor Travis's smile fell off. Conner patted his brother and reassured him that after this he will take him to an indian restaurant. Travis's mood lifted and wewent back to the reading.

 **he said something to the fiery dude that I couldn't make out, and the fiery dude burned brighter.**

" I have heard that a person's face glows when he or she is extremely happy but never heard that the person 's entire body starts glowing for the same reason." " That is our gods for ya." Sadie responded to Jason' s comment. _Roman!!_

 **"Excellent! If you can do this, you will be rewarded. If not..."**

 **"I understand, my lord."**

 **"Go then," the fiery man said. "Unleash our forces. Start with the longnecks. That should soften them up. Collect the younglings and bring them to me. I want them alive, before they have time to learn their powers. Do not fail me."**

 **"No, lord."**

 **"Phoenix," the fiery man mused. "I like that very much." He swept his hand across the horizon, as if he were imagining the city in flames. "Soon I will rise from your ashes. It will be a lovely birthday present."**

" What just happened? Will someone explain?" Frank sighed. "You will find out about that in this chapter itself." "Finally!!"

 **I woke with my heart pounding, back in my own body. I felt hot, as if the fiery guy were starting to burn me. Then I realized that there was a cat on my chest.**

 **Muffin stared at me, her eyes half closed. "Mrow."**

 **"How did you get in?" I muttered.**

 **I sat up, and for a second I wasn't sure where I was. Some hotel in another city? I almost called for my dad...and then I remembered.**

Julius's voice wavered at _I almost called for my dad..._ part. Poor Julius.

 **Yesterday. The museum. The sarcophagus.**

 **It all crashed down on me so hard I could barely breathe.**

 **Stop, I told myself. You don't have time for grief. And this is going to sound weird, but the voice in my head almost sounded like a different person—older, stronger. Either that was a good sign, or I was going crazy.**

" It is the first one." Lord Horus nodded. " Unfortunately, it is none of them, Horus." Carter rubbed his forehead. Lord Horus huffed. I could see that none of the Greek gods like Carter's casual way of speaking to Lord Horus.

 **Remember what you saw, the voice said. He's after you. You have to be ready.**

 **I shivered. I wanted to believe I'd just had a bad dream, but I knew better.**

" Most of the demigod dreams are also that bad." Percy gulped, unblinking as if remembering something.

 **I'd been through too much in the last day to doubt what I'd seen. Somehow, I'd actually left my body while I slept. I'd been to Phoenix—thousands of miles away. The fiery dude was there.**

" My. Name. Is .Set. S-e-t. I am not some fiery dude." " Yeah and did you told us that coming out of that stupid stone? No! How do you think we will know who are younand what do you want? We didn't born with that knowledge from our mother's womb! " Sadie retorted throwig her hands in air.

 **I hadn't understood much of what he'd said, but he'd talked about sending his forces to capture the younglings. Gee, wonder who that could be?**

 **Muffin jumped off the bed and sniffed at the ivory headrest, looking up at me as if she were trying to tell me something.**

 **"You can have it," I told her. "It's uncomfortable."**

 **She butted her head against it and stared at me accusingly. "Mrow."**

 **"Whatever, cat."**

"The cat has a name!" Bast huffed.

 **I got up and showered. When I tried to get dressed, I found that my old clothes had disappeared in the night. Everything in the closet was my size, but way different than what I was used to—baggy drawstring pants and loose shirts, all plain white linen, and robes for cold weather, kind of what the fellahin, the peasants in Egypt, wear. It wasn't exactly my style.**

" You have a style, dear brother? " Sadie asked innocently. Zia laughed at her comment " Yes he does! His style is of a Harvard's professor. Quite handsome at that." She said the last part silently so only the people around her heard. Sadie snorted, Carter blushed and Will looked amused. I could help feel read hot Jealousy oozing out of me.

 **Sadie likes to tell me that I don't have a style. She complains that I dress like I'm an old man—button-down shirt, slacks, dress shoes. Okay, maybe. But here's the thing. My dad had always drilled into my head that I had to dress my best.**

 **I remember the first time he explained it to me. I was ten. We were on our way to the airport in Athens, and it was like 112 degrees outside, and I was complaining that I wanted to wear shorts and a T-shirt. Why couldn't I be comfortable? We weren't going anywhere important that day—just traveling.**

 **My dad put his hand on my shoulder. "Carter, you're getting older. You're an African American man. People will judge you more harshly, and so you must always look impeccable."**

"What does that mean, Julius Kane? " Ruby said in a calm voice which sounded more like Percy's calm before storm one. Julius gulped and then laughed uneasily. " You know sweetheart that that..." " That? " " That I am an African American and and..." he waved between him and Carter as if that will calm his wife.

Carter and Sadie were having a hard time controlling their snicker. " Dr. Julius Kane, you are so in trouble for teaching my poor baby these things. And that to at a mere age of ten. How could you do that to our son ." " Sweetheart..." " Don't sweetheart me, I will discuss this in the lunch break. Be happy that I am not drawing and quartering you right _now._ "

Julius gulped again and sagged in his seat.

 **"That isn't fair!" I insisted.**

 **"Fairness does not mean everyone gets the same," Dad said. "Fairness means everyone gets what they need. And the only way to get what you need is to make it happen yourself. Do you understand?"**

" I do now ,Dad ,I do now. " " Well atleast one good thing came out of this."

 **I told him I didn't. But still I did what he asked—like caring about Egypt, and basketball, and music. Like traveling with only one suitcase. I dressed the way Dad wanted me to, because Dad was usually right. In fact I'd never known him to be wrong...until the night at the British Museum.**

 **Anway, I put on the linen clothes from the closet. The slipper shoes were comfortable, though I doubted they'd be much good to run in.**

 **The door to Sadie's room was open, but she wasn't there.**

 **Thankfully my bedroom door wasn't locked anymore. Muffin joined me and we walked downstairs, passing a lot of unoccupied bedrooms on the way. The mansion could've easily slept a hundred people, but instead it felt empty and sad.**

"You said you have initiates living in twenty first nome, then why are the rooms empty." " The initiates came after the first book. Even Walt came in the second one. Zia is in this but... you find out. I really don't know how to phase that, without angering Zia that is." Sadie informed us.

 **Down in the Great Room, Khufu the baboon sat on the sofa with a basketball between his legs and a chunk of strange-looking meat in his hands. It was covered in pink feathers. ESPN was on the television, and Khufu was watching highlights from the games the night before.**

 **"Hey," I said, though I felt a little weird talking to him. "Lakers win?"**

" Nope , New York Yankees win, always." " In your dreams." And that was the beginning of a very boring chat between Percy, Will, Carter and Walt about basketball. Even Lord Apollo, Lord Hermes and Julius gave their two cents in the discussion time to time.

" You know what ,we should totally have a match! " " Yep sure, Even our Carter has gone from Cory brewer to LeBron James. He is that good!" Carter tried to hide the blush s uffing in his cheeck as Sadie and Zia looked amused. " Now that All basketball talk is finished ,shall we start the reading again." Julius nodded.

 **Khufu looked at me and patted his basketball like he wanted a game. "Agh, agh."**

 **He had a pink feather hanging from his chin, and the sight made my stomach do a slow roll.**

Even mine did. My mother looked close to fainting while Lacy was no better. Piper and others were taking it as if they see this everyday. _Yuck._

 **"Um, yeah," I said. "We'll play later, okay?"**

 **I could see Sadie and Amos out on the terrace, eating breakfast by the pool. It should've been freezing out there, but the fire pit was blazing, and neither Amos nor Sadie looked cold. I headed their way, then hesitated in front of the statue of Thoth. In the daylight, the bird-headed god didn't look quite so scary. Still, I could swear those beady eyes were watching me expectantly.**

 **What had the fiery guy said last night? Something about catching us before we learned our powers. It sounded ridiculous, but for a moment I felt a surge of strength—like the night before when I'd opened the front door just by raising my hand. I felt like I could lift anything, even this thirty-foot-tall statue if I wanted to. In a kind of trance, I stepped forward.**

" He did. Once. When he was showing Julian how to train with the powers of Horus." Walt stated. _Damn ,Carter is handsome and strong. Killer_ _combination!_ I thought dreamily.

 **Muffin meowed impatiently and butted my foot. The feeling dissolved.**

 **"You're right," I told the cat. "Stupid idea."**

 **Besides, I could smell breakfast now—French toast, bacon, hot chocolate—and I couldn't blame Muffin for being in a hurry. I followed her out to the terrace.**

 **"Ah, Carter," Amos said. "Merry Chrstmas, my boy. Join us."**

 **"About time," Sadie grumbled. "I've been up for ages."**

 **But she held my eyes for a moment, like she was thinking the same thing I was: Christmas. We hadn't spent a Christmas morning together since Mom died. I wondered if Sadie remembered how we used to make god's-eye decorations out of yarn and Popsicle sticks.**

Julius hid his face in the book while Ruby's eyes softened. " We still do those things on Christmas in twenty first nome." Sadie told them happily and they smiled back.

 **Amos poured himself a cup of coffee. His clothes were similar to those he'd worn the day before, and I had to admit the guy had style.**

" Of course Amos has a style. He is a jazz musician. " " I knew it. That was where I have seen him. I was constantly thinking where I had seen Amos. He is a very famous Jazz musician. I love his songs. " It was the nerdy Will.

 **His tailored suit was made of blue wool, he wore a matching fedora, and his hair was freshly braided with dark blue lapis lazuli, one of the stones the Egyptians often used for jewelry. Even his glasses matched. The round lenses were tinted blue. A tenor sax rested on a stand near the fire pit, and I could totally picture him playing out here, serenading the East River.**

 **As for Sadie, she was dressed in a white linen pajama outfit like me, but somehow she'd managed to keep her combat boots. She'd probably slept with them on.**

"Yep ,I slept in my boots." Sadie replied to the unasked question . Carter rolled his eyes at her antics.

 **She looked pretty comical with the red-streaked hair and the outfit, but since I wasn't dressed any better, I could hardly make fun of her.**

 **"Um...Amos?" I asked. "You didn't have any pet birds, did you? Khufu's eating something with pink feathers."**

 **"Mmm." Amos sipped his coffee. "Sorry if that disturbed you. Khufu's very picky. He only eats foods that end in -o. Doritos, burritos, flamingos."**

"Did he just said Flamingos?" Qith that mother fainted.

 **I blinked. "Did you say—"**

 **"Carter," Sadie warned. She looked a little queasy, like she'd already had this conversation. "Don't ask."**

" If you asked that question ,I most probably would have throw up . " Sadie shrugged.

 **"Okay," I said. "Not asking."**

 **"Please, Carter, help yourself." Amos waved toward a buffet table piled high with food. "Then we can get started with the explanations."**

" Yummyy! The first thing I am going to look for when we visit twenty first nome." The sons of Hermes cheered.

 **I didn't see any flamingo on the buffet table, which was fine by me, but there was just about everything else. I snagged some pancakes with butter and syrup, some bacon, and a glass of OJ.**

Many mouths watered.

 **Then I noticed movement in the corner of my eye. I glanced at the swimming pool. Something long and pale was gliding just under the surface of the water.**

 **I almost dropped my plate. "Is that—"**

 **"A crocodile," Amos confirmed. "For good luck. He's albino, but please don't mention that. He's sensitive."**

"I have heard people keeping Amulets , and pendents as a good luck charm but don't you think that is a one step too far. " Jason furrowed his brows . " Say the guy who throws his victims in a bag filled with hungry weasels in water."

I retorted him back remembering what I heard through daughters of Venus. The romans narrowed their gaze at me but I stood my ground.

"You know that is a pretty good idea for punishing the souls. " Juluis started. Catching up Nico nodded. " So true, I always wanted to talk to them for ideas to use in field of punishment."

I groaned mentally at their change of topic and the smug smile that came on the roman's face. " You know in that case you should also consult Poseidon. He has some wicked ideas that can make Hitler baby." Lord Hades suggested.

" Lord of sea is a sadist. Who would have thought." Ruby teased. Sea god groaned. " It was just one time. And that was for Sally's ex -husband. Sally is Percy's mother. His step father was downright awful. When he died I gave Hades a list of tortures for the guy which, unfortunately , made me a place in his excellent-idea-givers books. Now he come down every week for something or the other." He threw his hands in air to show his annoyance while everyone else laughed.

" In that case, even I have some torture ideas which won't inflict much pain but will surely drive the point across the guy. I am keeping it for my sister, who is newborn right now, 's future boyfriends. " I could feel several of demigods literally deflating at that. I know most of them bar Annabeth thinks of Percy as their leader and elder brother. So him talking about his half sister is like sticking fingers in their wound.

"You know what, you can try thise ideas first hand on someone. " Carter

proposed looking at Walt. Percy laughed while Walt gulped hard.

 **"His name is Philip of Macedonia," Sadie informed me.**

 **I wasn't sure how Sadie was taking this all so calmly, but I figured if she wasn't freaking out, I shouldn't either.**

" If I freak out the croc would have eaten me alive! And also he is kind of cute." " Yeah only Sadie can think of croc as cute."

 **"That's a long name," I said.**

 **"He's a long crocodile," Sadie said. "Oh, and he likes bacon."**

 **To prove her point, she tossed a piece of bacon over her shoulder. Philip lunged out of the water and snapped up the treat. His hide was pure white and his eyes were pink. His mouth was so big, he could've snapped up an entire pig.**

"Woooww! I love your croc." Leo cheered.

 **"He's quite harmless to my friends," Amos assured me. "In the old days, no temple would be complete without a lake full of crocodiles. They are powerful magic creatures."**

 **"Right," I said. "So the baboon, the crocodile...any other pets I should know about?"**

 **Amos thought for a moment. "Visible ones? No, I think that's it."**

"You have imaginary pets too!" " No ,ge was trying to be intruging but ended up being a nerd."

 **I took a seat as far from the pool as possible. Muffin circled my legs and purred. I hoped she had enough sense to stay away from magic crocodiles named Philip.**

 **"So, Amos," I said between bites of pancake. "Explanations."**

 **"Yes," he agreed. "Where to start..."**

 **"Our dad," Sadie suggested. "What happened to him?"**

 **Amos took a deep breath. "Julius was attempting to summon a god. Unfortunately, it worked."**

"You summon a god ? " Lady Athena asked bewildered.

 **It was kind of hard to take Amos seriously, talking about summoning gods while he spread butter on a bagel.**

 **"Any god in particular?" I asked casually. "Or did he just order a generic god?"**

 **Sadie kicked me under the table. She was scowling, as if she actually believed what Amos was saying.**

" I wasn't. I was just waiting for time to hit him on his head with a saucer so that when he will come conscious he would tell us some scientific reasons for all that crap and we will move on. " Sadie nodded seriously. " Thank Horus ,I thought Amos did some serious magic on you to make you obidient." Carter got a hard punch on his shoulder.

 **Amos took a bite of bagel. "There are many Egyptian gods, Carter. But your dad was after one in particular."**

 **He looked at me meaningfully.**

 **"Osiris," I remembered. "When Dad was standing in front of the Rosetta Stone, he said, 'Osiris, come.' But Osiris is a legend. He's make-believe."**

" I wish that was true." Carter shook his head.

 **"I wish that were true." Amos stared across the East River at the Manhattan skyline, gleaming in the morning sun. "The Ancient Egyptians were not fools, Carter. They built the pyramids. They created the first great nation state. Their civilization lasted thousands of years."**

 **"Yeah," I said. "And now they're gone."**

" Nope we are still alive and kicking." Bes replied with a smug look in his dimantled face.

TO BE CONTINUED...

 **\--xx--**

 **Firstly, Don't worry, Percabrth is forever in this story. Just so you know that Drew is a bit jealous of Annabeth and is seeing a lot when there is not much. Percy and Annabeth do fight but it is because they both worry about each other.** **Also the Percabeth drama is my gift to all their fans. Happy Pecabeth!**

 **Third, I am adding more bromance between Percy and Carter in future chapters. Hopefully you will like it. There will also be some more bonding between the magicians and demigod.** **Keep reading to find out more. And please tell me whom you want to bomd with whom. Like Annabeth-Sadie, Sadie-Reyna-Piper-**

 **Annabeth-Thalia-Zia. Or in short all the girls present except Drew and Lacy. Do you like bromance between the boys too or some boy girl frienimity between the demigodesses and Carter and Walt . How about Nico and Carter gay romance. Tell me please!!**

 **I don't remember exactly whearher Amos plays Jazz or Saxaphone. But If I am right it should be Jazz. Hmm...**

 **Lastly sorry. I was not able to fit the entire chapter in one page. But good news ,I will update the part 2 on Monday or Tuesday. Happy reading!!**


	18. Chap 16: breakfast with croc part 2

**A/N This is too be continued part of last one.** **Their are somepeople missing ,if you would have noticed. Chiron went back to camp last night. That is why he was not included. R R guys**

 **\--xx--**

 **Chapter 16:** **Breakfast with a Crocodile part 2**

To be continued...

 **Percy's pov.**

These guys are so like and unlike us. They suffered similar fate and came on the top , at the same time their strength lies in words and magic than physical. It is really interesting to read their story and watch them interact. Back to the story.

 **Amos shook his head. "A legacy that powerful does not disappear.**

"So that is how you survived. Where Greeks and Romans survived due to western culture, Egyptians lived on their legacies." I clicked my fingers. Everyone pondered at that.

 **Next to the Egyptians, the Greeks and Romans were babies.**

"Hey! " Most of my friends shouted while Greek god gave angry look to the other ones. "Don't hey them. If I remember correctly ,when I came to camp,Chiron told me similar things about them. It is just their pride speaking. Don't take it seriously." I reprimanded them lightly. They looked surprised. _Ugh, And they think I am an idiot._

 **Our modern nations like Great Britain and America? Blinks of an eye. The very oldest root of civilization, at least of Western civilization, is Egypt.**

"Egypt _is_ the oldest civilization. That much we give you the credit for." Lady Athena nodded

 **Look at the pyramid on the dollar bill. Look at the Washington Monument—the world's largest Egyptian obelisk. Egypt is still very much alive. And so, unfortunately, are her gods."**

"What do you mean by unfortunately!"

Lady Isis cried.

 **"Come on," I argued. "I mean...even if I believe there's a real thing called magic. Believing in ancient gods is totally different. You're joking, right?"**

" Nope he was not! " Sadied sighed.

 **But as I said it, I thought about the fiery guy in the museum, the way his face had shifted between human and animal. And the statue of Thoth—how its eyes had followed me.**

" You are a smart boy ,kid." Lord Bes nodded which seemed awkward.

 **"Carter," Amos said, "the Egyptians would not have been stupid enough to believe in imaginary gods. The beings they described in their myths are very, very real. In the old days, the priests of Egypt would call upon these gods to channel their power and perform great feats. That is the origin of what we now call magic. Like many things, magic was first invented by the Egyptians. Each temple had a branch of magicians called the House of Life. Their magicians were famed throughout the ancient world."**

Annabeth's eyes widened. _Which looks cute on her._ Even I cannot help feel surprised and dazzeled by the picture he was painting. We maybe demigods but having powers of a real immortal being is of different level.

 **"And you're an Egyptian magician."**

 **Amos nodded. "So was your father. You saw it for yourself last night."**

 **I hesitated. It was hard to deny my dad had done some weird stuff at the museum—some stuff that looked like magic.**

 **"But he's an archaeologist," I said stubbornly.**

" Why does it take so much time to get these information in your stubborn head? You. Are. A. Magician. Isn't that simple." " It is easy for you Thalia as ,if my guess is right, you are born or told about yours at a very young age. After an age it becomes very difficult to accept these things without questioning it. If Carter and Sadie had been told much later ,I doubt they would have understood one bit." Zia replied.

 **"That's his cover story. You'll remember that he specialized in translating ancient spells, which are very difficult to understand unless you work magic yourself. Our family, the Kane family, has been part of the House of Life almost since the beginning. And your mother's family is almost as ancient."**

 **"The Fausts?" I tried to imagine Grandma and Grandpa Faust doing magic, but unless watching rugby on TV and burning cookies was magical, I couldn't see it.**

"If they are ,I would do those thing on regular basis! " Conner cheered.

 **"They had not practiced magic for many generations," Amos admitted. "Not until your mother came along. But yes, a very ancient bloodline."**

 **Sadie shook her head in disbelief. "So now Mum was magic, too. Are you joking?"**

 **"No jokes," Amos promised. "The two of you...you combine the blood of two ancient families, both of which have a long, complicated history with the gods. You are the most powerful Kane children to be born in many centuries."**

" Yep bow to us, the most magician and her sidkick of a brother, my minions!" Sadie joked. Carter snorted at that while others roared with laughter.

 **I tried to let that sink in. At the moment, I didn't feel powerful. I felt queasy. "You're telling me our parents secretly worshipped animal-headed gods?" I asked.**

" No they don't worship us !" Lord Horus made a face. All of us gasped. _These guys don't worship gods then what do they do ?_

 **"Not worshipped," Amos corrected. "By the end of the ancient times, Egyptians had learned that their gods were not to be worshipped. They are powerful beings, primeval forces, but they are not divine in the sense one might think of God. They are created entities, like mortals, only much more powerful. We can respect them, fear them, use their power, or even fight them to keep them under control—"**

" You fight gods? No doubt you are so powerful?" There was awe in Reyna' s voice." Yep we fight them, capture them and keep them in places like the Rosetta stone. Or so we did before the Kanes. Now well.. you will read about them in third book what happened to the gods? " Zia replied. I could feel anticipation and excitement rushing up at that comment. I wanted to know more about their adventures.

 **"Fight gods?" Sadie interrupted.**

 **"Constantly," Amos assured her. "But we don't worship them. Thoth taught us that."**

" Yeah, Throth taught you that!" Lord Horus said, venom in his words. Lord Throth gulped

 **I looked at Sadie for help. The old guy had to be crazy. But Sadie was looking like she believed every word.**

"I told you I was trying to find time to straighten him. Also half of his words went over my head. So no big deal.

 **"So..." I said. "Why did Dad break the Rosetta Stone?"**

 **"Oh, I'm sure he didn't mean to break it," Amos said. "That would've horrified him. In fact, I imagine my brethren in London have repaired the damage by now. The curators will soon check their vaults and discover that the Rosetta Stone miraculously survived the explosion."**

 **"But it was blown into a million pieces!" I said. "How could they repair it?"**

" Let me guess ,magic ? " " Spot on!"

 **Amos picked up a saucer and threw it onto the stone floor. The saucer shattered instantly.**

 **"That was to destroy," Amos said. "I could've done it by magic—ha-di—but it's simpler just to smash it.**

" That is Sadie's favourite spell."

 **And now..." Amos held out his hand. "Join. Hi-nehm."**

 **A blue hieroglyphic symbol burned in the air above his palm.**

 **"Some trick," I managed. I tried to sound calm about it, but I was thinking of all the odd things that had happened to my dad and me over the years, like those gunmen in the Cairo hotel who'd ended up hanging by their feet from a chandelier. Was it possible my dad had made that happen with some kind of spell?**

 **Amos poured milk in the saucer, and put it on the floor. Muffin came padding over. "At any rate, your father would never intentionally damage a relic. He simply didn't realize how much power the Rosetta Stone contained.**

" Well that's a relief!!" Lady Athena sighed in, well ,relief.

 **You see, as Egypt faded, its magic collected and concentrated into its remaining relics. Most of these, of course, are still in Egypt. But you can find some in almost every major museum. A magician can use these artifacts as focal points to work more powerful spells."**

"That is how we create portals to travel." Sadie informed us. This was too much to take in.

 **"I don't get it," I said.**

 **Amos spread his hands. "I'm sorry, Carter. It takes years of study to understand magic, and I'm trying to explain it to you in a single morning. The important thing is, for the past six years your father has been looking for a way to summon Osiris, and last night he thought he had found the right artifact to do it."**

" We learned it all in few monthes and tons of quest." Sadie winced. " You know I found another similarity. We both are sucidal. " I nodded remembering my first quest. I don't know why but their story feels quite similar to mine.

 **"Wait, why did he want Osiris?"**

 **Sadie gave me a troubled look. "Carter, Osiris was the lord of the dead. Dad was talking about making things right. He was talking about Mum."**

" Well you were true in some ways. " Carter told Sadie waving in the direction of their parents.

 **Suddenly the morning seemed colder. The fire pit sputtered in the wind coming off the river.**

 **"He wanted to bring Mom back from the dead?" I said. "But that's crazy!"**

" That was not exactly in my mind." " Yeah , you wanted her dead or alive in the most romantic way!"Lady Aphrodite squealed in a high pitch. This time the magicians were prepared and casted some nonoise retention spell around us so that when she squealed no voice reached us. _That's pretty cool._

 **Amos hesitated. "It would've been dangerous. Inadvisable. Foolish. But not crazy. Your father is a powerful magician. If, in fact, that is what he was after, he might have accomplished it, using the power of Osiris."**

"Even after all these years my brother could never understand my motives." Lord Osiris shook his head.

 **I stared at Sadie. "You're actually buying this?"**

 **"You saw the magic at the museum. The fiery bloke. Dad summoned something from the stone."**

 **"Yeah," I said, thinking of my dream. "But that wasn't Osiris, was it?"**

 **"No," Amos said. "Your father got more than he bargained for. He did release the spirit of Osiris. In fact, I think he successfully joined with the god—"**

"Joined with ,as in taken host by?" "Yep!"

 **"Joined with?"**

 **Amos held up his hand. "Another long conversation. For now, let's just say he drew the power of Osiris into himself. But he never got the chance to use it because, according to what Sadie has told me, it appears that Julius released five gods from the Rosetta Stone. Five gods who were all trapped together."**

 **I glanced at Sadie. "You told him everything?"**

" He was our only hope. So yeah, I told him." Sadie shrugged.

 **He's going to help us, Carter."**

 **I wasn't quite ready to trust this guy, even if he was our uncle, but I decided I didn't have much choice.**

 **"Okay, yeah," I said. "The fiery guy said something like 'You released all five.' What did he mean?"**

 **Amos sipped his coffee. The faraway look on his face reminded me of my dad. "I don't want to scare you."**

"Too late" Zia commented.

 **"Too late."**

and then she blushed.

 **"The gods of Egypt are very dangerous. For the last two thousand years or so, we magicians have spent much of our time binding and banishing them whenever they appear. In fact, our most important law, issued by Chief Lector Iskandar in Roman times, forbids unleashing the gods or using their power. Your father broke that law once before."**

Everyonelistened with rapt attention at finally we were getigetting our answers.

 **Sadie's face paled. "Does this have something to do with Mum's death? Cleopatra's Needle in London?"**

Ruby nodded sadly.

 **"It has everything to do with that, Sadie. Your parents...well, they thought they were doing something good.**

"We were doing something good. It was necessary for safety of the world." Julius nodded with any emotion. It must be tdrrible to leave your kids to fend off themselves in the world just to save the place.

 **They took a terrible risk, and it cost your mother her life. Your father took the blame. He was exiled, I suppose you would say. Banished. He was forced to move around constantly because the House monitored his activities. They feared he would continue his...research. As indeed he did."**

That's why you travelled so much!" Leo exclaimed. They nodded.

 **I thought about the times Dad would look over his shoulder as he copied some ancient inscriptions, or wake me up at three or four in the morning and insist it was time to change hotels, or warn me not to look in his workbag or copy certain pictures from old temple walls—as if our lives depended on it.**

 **"Is that why you never came round?" Sadie asked Amos. "Because Dad was banished?"**

"That is not a reason to stay away from your family." Lady Hestia amended.

 **"The House forbade me to see him. I loved Julius. It hurt me to stay away from my brother, and from you children. But I could not see you—until last night, when I simply had no choice but to try to help. Julius has been obsessed with finding Osiris for years. He was consumed with grief because of what happened to your mother.**

"Of course he would be. She is the love of his life." Lady Aphrodite wiped some fake tears.

 **When I learned that Julius was about to break the law again, to try to set things right, I had to stop him. A second offense would've meant a death sentence. Unfortunately, I failed. I should've known he was too stubborn."**

Silence regained in the room." But you dmwere not given one ,right? " Lady Athena asked. I have no idea how but seems like wisdom goddess has a soft spot for Lord Osiris. " I mean, your kids won't allow that, right." " Of course Lady Athena . He didn't get any punishment. Heck if they wouldn't have broken the rules we would not be here." Carter nodded vigorously.

 **I looked down at my plate. My food had gotten cold. Muffin leaped onto the table and rubbed against my hand.**

" Aww, the cat understand your mood." It was Lady Bast.

 **When I didn't object, she started eating my bacon.**

" And steals his food!" Lord Bes added for a good measure.

 **"Last night at the museum," I said, "the girl with the knife, the man with the forked beard—they were magicians too? From the House of Life?""Yes," Amos said. "Keeping an eye on your father. You are fortunate they let you go.""The girl wanted to kill us,"**

" Talk about falling in love with your to be muderess!" Piper replied sarcastically. Zia and Carter blushed which was hard to identify due to their dark complexion.

 **I remembered. "But the guy with the beard said, not yet.""They don't kill unless it is absolutely necessary,"** **Amos said.**

"As I told earlier, If the house had killed they there would not be any house." Zia told us. " Uhu, and you were one of the people who were threating the Kane family." Walt retorted." I was just doing my job! "

 **"They will wait to see if you are a threat.""Why would we be a threat?" Sadie demanded. "We're children! The summoning wasn't our idea."Amos pushed away his plate. "There is a reason you two were raised separately.""Because the Fausts took Dad to court," I said matter-of-factly. "And Dad lost."**

 **"It was much more than that," Amos said. "The House insisted you two be separated. Your father wanted to keep you both, even though he knew how dangerous it was."Sadie looked like she'd been smacked between the eyes.**

"Of course ,I was taken aback. How would you feel if you are mad at someone for leaving you alone only to find out that they left you inly because they were not not allowed to take you." Sadie's face was red with controlled anger.

What she didn't notice was the sad and guilty look on her father's face. Osiris looked like someone has punched him gut. He looked away not able to face his daughter anymore.

I don't know whom to feel sorry for as all demigods have parental problems while at the same time I know our parent would also feel the same as Julius does if they finds out what is on their childrens' minds.

Lady Hestia cleared her throat and said" We should start the reading to finish it and next four chapters before lunch. She gave Juluis a reassuring pat on his hand. He stood up, keeping the book aside ,went to Sadie to hug her. Sadie stiffed at first then relaxed. He murmered something in her ears. She gave him a small smile and hugged him back. Julius went back and started reading.

 **"He did?""Of course.**

 **But the House intervened and made sure your grandparents got custody of you, Sadie. If you and Carter were raised together, you could become very powerful.**

"We still are!" Sadie was coming back to normal.

 **Perhaps you have already sensed changes over the past day."I thought about the surges of strength I'd been feeling, and the way Sadie suddenly seemed to know how to read Ancient Egyptian.**

" That was partially due to these two, " Carter pointed towards Lady Isis and Lord Horus ,"and partially due to the reason given." Thalia looked annoyed listening to them. She knew if Sadie was so important to Carter, he won't allow her to join the Hunteresses. And she was already hooked by Sadie's I-don't- give-a-shit attitude.

 **Then I thought of something even further back."Your sixth birthday," I told Sadie."The cake," she said immediately, the memory passing between us like an electric spark.**

 **At Sadie's sixth birthday party, the last one we'd shared as a family, Sadie and I had a huge argument. I don't remember what it was about. I think I wanted to blow out the candles for her.**

 **We started yelling. She grabbed my shirt. I pushed her. I remember Dad rushing toward us, trying to intervene, but before he could, Sadie's birthday cake exploded. Icing splattered the walls, our parents, the faces of Sadie's little six-year-old friends. Dad and Mom separated us. They sent me to my room.**

The whole room erupted in laughter." That was a damn good one!" The Hermes's sons ,Lord Hermes and Lord Apollo shouted.Sadie and Carter blushed bright red.

 **Later, they said we must've hit the cake by accident as we were fighting, but I knew we hadn't. Something much weirder had made it explode, as if it had responded to our anger. I remembered Sadie crying with a chunk of cake on her forehead, an upside-down candle stuck to the ceiling with its wick still burning, and an adult visitor, one of my parents' friends, his glasses speckled with white frosting. I turned to Amos. "That was you. You were at Sadie's party."**

Another round of laughter erupted. I couldn't help but imagine Amos with frosting coated glasses.

 **"Vanilla icing," he recalled. "Very tasty. But it was clear even then that you two would be difficult to raise in the same household.""And so..." I faltered. "What happens to us now?"I didn't want to admit it, but I couldn't stand the thought of being separated from Sadie again.**

Ruby and Julius secretly smiled as Carter and Sadie simply ignored each other.

 **She wasn't much, but she was all I had."You must be trained properly," Amos said, "whether the House approves or not.""Why wouldn't they approve?" I asked."I will explain everything, don't worry. But we must start your lessons if we are to stand any chance of finding your father and putting things right. Otherwise the entire world is in danger. If we only knew where—"**

 **"Phoenix," I blurted out. Amos stared at me. "What?""Last night I had...well, not a dream, exactly..." I felt stupid, but I told him what had happened while I slept.**

"It is not stupid ,Carter. At first we all do these kinds of mistakes." Ruby reassured him.

 **Judging from Amos's expression, the news was even worse than I thought."You're sure he said 'birthday present'?" he asked."Yeah, but what does that mean?""And a permanent host," Amos said. "He didn't have one yet?""Well, that's what the rooster-footed guy said—""That was a demon,"**

"You know ,I like your demons' names more. Ours are so boring! " Grover commented.

 **Amos said. "A minion of chaos. And if demons are coming through to the mortal world, we don't have much time. This is bad, very bad.""If you live in Phoenix," I said."Carter, our enemy won't stop in Phoenix. If he's grown so powerful so fast...What did he say about the storm, exactly?""He said: 'I will summon the greatest storm ever known.'"Amos scowled. "The last time he said that, he created the Sahara. A storm that large could destroy North America, generating enough chaos energy to give him an almost invincible form."**

"Holy Zeus!" Nico yelped. Everyone glared at Set who shifted in his seat.

 **"What are you talking about? Who is this guy?"Amos waved away the question.**

"Those are valid questions, for those are new to this crazy world." I grumbled. I recalled my own first lesson and that no one was giving me direct answers then.

 **"More important right now: why didn't you sleep with the headrest?"I shrugged. "It was uncomfortable." I looked at Sadie for support. "You didn't use it, did you?"Sadie rolled her eyes. "Well, of course I did. It was obviously there for a reason."**

"A study says girls always prefer fashion and before comfort. That also applies for such things." Walt nodded wisely only to get glares from women around the hall.

 **Sometimes I really hate my sister. [Ow! That's my foot!]**

"Poor Carter,Ow!" Walt shut up.

 **"Carter," Amos said, "sleep is dangerous. It's a doorway into the Duat.""Lovely," Sadie grumbled. "Another strange word." "Ah...yes, sorry," Amos said. "The Duat is the world of spirits and magic. It exists beneath the waking world like a vast ocean, with many layers and regions. We submerged just under its surface last night to reach New York, because travel through the Duat is much faster. Carter, your consciousness also passed through its shallowest currents as you slept, which is how you witnessed what happened in Phoenix. Fortunately, you survived that experience. But the deeper you go into the Duat, the more horrible things you encounter, and the more difficult it is to return. There are entire realms filled with demons, palaces where the gods exist in their pure forms, so powerful their mere presence would burn a human to ashes. There are prisons that hold beings of unspeakable evil, and some chasms so deep and chaotic that not even the gods dare explore them. Now that your powers are stirring, you must not sleep without protection, or you leave yourself open to attacks from the Duat or...unintended journeys through it. The headrest is enchanted, to keep your consciousness anchored to your body." "You mean I actually did..." My mouth tasted like metal.**

We all gulped. _That_ _was scary!_

 **"Could he have killed me?"Amos's expression was grave. "The fact that your soul can travel like that means you are progressing faster than I thought. Faster than should be possible. If the Red Lord had noticed you—""The Red Lord?" Sadie said. "That's the fiery bloke?"Amos rose. "I must find out more. We can't simply wait for him to find you. And if he releases the storm on his birthday, at the height of his powers—""You mean you're going to Phoenix?" I could barely get the words out. "Amos, that fiery man defeated Dad like his magic was a joke! Now he's got demons, and he's getting stronger, and—you'll be killed!"**

No one spoke up,too consumed in the story.

 **Amos gave me a dry smile, like he'd already weighed the dangers and didn't need a reminder. His expression reminded me painfully of Dad's.**

Carter winced.

 **"Don't count your uncle out so quickly, Carter. I've got some magic of my own. Besides, I must see what is happening for myself if we're to have any chance at saving your father and stopping the Red Lord. I'll be quick and careful. Just stay here. Muffin will guard you."I blinked.**

"The cat is magic too!" "You will see."

 **"The cat will guard us? You can't just leave us here! What about our training?""When I return," Amos promised. "Don't worry, the mansion is protected. Just do not leave. Do not be tricked into opening the door for anyone. And whatever happens, do not go into the library. I absolutely forbid it. I will be back by sunset."**

 **Before we could protest, Amos walked calmly to the edge of the terrace and jumped."No!" Sadie screamed.**

"He is like a ninja!" Leo looked as he was high on sweets.

 **We ran to the railing and looked over. Below was a hundred-foot drop into the East River. There was no sign of Amos. He'd simply vanished. Philip of Macedonia splashed in his pool. Muffin jumped onto the railing and insisted we pet her. We were alone in a strange mansion with a baboon, a crocodile, and a weird cat.**

"Well you have animal protectors ,it seems."

 **And apparently, the entire world was in danger.I looked at Sadie. "What do we do now?"She crossed her arms. "Well, that's obvious, isn't it? We explore the library."**

"Obviously!"Zia ,Carter and Walt exlaimed together, making Sadie blush.

"And the chapter ends. Now who will read next."" I will!"

 **\--xx--**

 **Do you know why Percy thinks his and Kanes have similar story? ;-)**

 **The study is a true one. I read it on net.**

 **Lastly,my college begins in july so You may only hear from me on saturedays or sundays.Not that you would mind.As this story always get updated on sundays.Happy reading! Also guess who will read next.**


	19. CHAP17 DROP A LITTLE MAN ON HIS HEAD PT1

**Ok new chapter. I got some amazing reviews for last ones. And I love your ideas. I think I will try to aply some of them in the future chapters. Let's see.**

 **\--xx--**

 **Chapter 17:** **I Drop a little Man on His Head** **Part 1.**

 **Apollo's pov.**

Honestly, these guys aren't that bad as father is thinking. How do I know what my father is thinking ? Well he is making funny faces behind their back which is as amusing as the story. I am really looking forward to see where Bast comes in the story. _Huuh, sweet little kitty Bast._

So ,when Osiris asked who would read next ,I raised my hand ,"I will." Greek gods and demigods turned towards me and looked as if I gained another head. Artemis touching my head ,asked concerned" Are you alright? You didn't caught any flue or something?"

I rolled my eyes and replied," No,I am all fine. I just want to know what happens next.That is all. Now will you give me the book!" Osiris nodded and sent the bok towards me.I held it and turned to next chapter. I read.

 **Chapter 7 :** **I Drop a Little Man on His Head**

Many eyebrows were raised.

 **HONESTLY, CARTER IS SO THICK sometimes I can't believe we're related.**

"Me too ,sis me too." Carter muttered.

 **I mean when someone says I forbid it, that's a good sign it's worth doing. I made for the library straightaway.**

"I like you already!" Hermes chanted.

 **"Hold on!" Carter cried. "You can't just—"**

 **"Brother dear," I said, "did your soul leave your body again while Amos was talking, or did you actually hear him? Egyptian gods real. Red Lord bad. Red Lord's birthday: very soon, very bad. House of Life: fussy old magicians who hate our family because Dad was a bit of a rebel, whom by the way you could take a lesson from.**

" Now I like you too!" Percy said laughingly.

 **Which leaves us—just us—with Dad missing, an evil god about to destroy the world, and an uncle who just jumped off the building—and I can't actually blame him." I took a breath.**

"Wow ,you seriously know how to summerize every serious topic to look ridiculous." Piper commented as everyone laughed.

 **[Yes, Carter, I do have to breathe occasionally.] "Am I missing anything? Oh, yes, I also have a brother who is supposedly quite powerful from an ancient bloodline, blah, blah, et cetera, but is too afraid to visit a library. Now, coming or not?"**

 **Carter blinked as if I'd just hit him, which I suppose I had in a way.**

Ruby and Julius quitened down intrested to listen how their kids interacted.

 **"I just..." He faltered. "I just think we should be careful."**

 **I realized the poor boy was quite scared, which I couldn't hold against him, but it did startle me. Carter was my big brother, after all—older, more sophisticated, the one who traveled the world with Dad. Big brothers are the ones who are supposed to pull their punches. Little sisters—well, we should be able to hit as hard as we like, shouldn't we? But I realized that possibly, just possibly, I'd been a bit harsh with him.**

Their parents smiled while Carter blushed at older brother comment.

 **"Look," I said. "We need to help Dad, yes? There's got to be some powerful stuff in that library, otherwise Amos wouldn't keep it locked up. You do want to help Dad?"**

 **Carter shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah...of course."**

 **Well, that was one problem sorted, so we headed for the library. But as soon as Khufu saw what we were up to, he scrambled off the sofa with his basketball and jumped in front of the library doors. Who knew baboons were so speedy?**

"I know, baboons can be quite speedy if they want to." Everyone looked at Grover weirdly. "What I am a satyr!"

 **He barked at us, and I have to say baboons have enormous fangs. And they're not any prettier when they've been chewing up exotic pink birds.**

This moment can be marked ,along with some others ,when a greek goddess fainted. Right now it was Aphrodite.

 **Carter tried to reason with him. "Khufu, we're not going to steal anything. We just want—"**

" You tried to reason a baboon ? " Hermes shouted tring hard to control his chuckle.

 **"Agh!" Khufu dribbled his basketball angrily.**

 **"Carter," I said, "you're not helping. Look here, Khufu. I have...ta-da!" I held up a little yellow box of cereal I'd taken from the buffet table. "Cheerios! Ends with an -o. Yumsies!"**

 **"Aghhh!" Khufu grunted, more excited now than angry.**

 **"Want it?" I coaxed. "Just take it to the couch and pretend you didn't see us, yes?"**

 **I threw the cereal towards the couch, and the baboon lunged after it. He grabbed the box in midair and was so excited, he ran straight up the wall and sat on the fireplace mantel, where he began gingerly picking out Cheerios and eating them one at a time.**

 **Carter looked at me with grudging admiration. "How did you—"**

 **"Some of us think ahead. Now, let's open these doors."**

Carter snorted and rolled his eyes.

 **That was not so easily done. They were made of thick wood laced with giant steel chains and padlocked. Complete overkill.**

"Why is the Library locked? It never was in our time!" Ruby furrowed her brows. " The reason will be revealed in further chapters." Walt said in a mechanical voice. I rolled my eyes. _Can't they just tell us everything!_

 **Carter stepped forward. He tried to raise the doors by lifting his hand, which had been quite impressive the night before, only now accomplished nothing.**

 **He shook the chains the old-fashioned way, then yanked on the padlocks.**

 **"No good," he said.**

 **Ice needles tingled on the back of my neck. It was almost as if someone—or something—was whispering an idea in my head.**

"You should have listened to the voice carefully!" Isis pointed out to Sadie. She shrugged. "I am very bad listener!"

"Truer words have not been spoken!"All the Egyptians excaimed at once. She turned red.

 **"What was that word Amos used at breakfast with the saucer?"**

 **"For 'join'?" Carter said. "Hi-nehm or something."**

 **"No, the other one, for 'destroy'."**

 **"Uh, ha-di. But you'd need to know magic and the hieroglyphics, wouldn't you? And even then—"**

 **I raised my hand toward the door. I pointed with two fingers and my thumb—an odd gesture I'd never made before, like a make-believe gun except with the thumb parallel to the ground.**

 **"Ha-di!"**

" And that was the beginning of Sadie's most famous catchphase!" Carter announced. Ruby and Julius shook their head in disapproval but smiled at them nonetheless.

 **Bright gold hieroglyphs burned against the largest padlock.**

 **And the doors exploded. Carter hit the floor as chains shattered and splinters flew all over the Great Room. When the dust cleared, Carter got up, covered in wood shavings. I seemed to be fine. Muffin circled my feet, mewing contentedly, as if this were all very normal.**

" I have necer said this before, but you cat is crazy!" Grover exclaimed.

 **Carter stared at me. "How exactly—"**

 **"Don't know," I admitted. "But the library's open."**

 **"Think you overdid it a little? We're going to be in so much trouble—"**

 **"We'll just figure out a way to zap the door back, won't we?"**

"Use the other spell ,to join one." Zia shrugged.

 **"No more zapping, please," Carter said. "That explosion could've killed us."**

 **"Oh, do you think if you tried that spell on a person—"**

 **"No!" He stepped back nervously.**

 **I felt gratified that I could make him squirm,**

"Uhu and I was wishing I could have thrown you to Philip!" Carter replied.

 **but I tried not to smile. "Let's just explore the library, shall we?"**

 **The truth was, I couldn't have ha-di-ed anyone. As soon as I stepped forward, I felt so faint that I almost collapsed.**

" First time magic is always like that!" Zia winced.

 **Carter caught me as I stumbled. "You okay?"**

 **"Fine," I managed, though I didn't feel fine. "I'm tired"—my stomach rumbled—"and famished."**

 **"You just ate a huge breakfast."**

 **It was true, but I felt as if I hadn't had food in weeks.**

 **"Never mind," I told him. "I'll manage."**

 **Carter studied me skeptically. "Those hieroglyphs you created were golden. Dad and Amos both used blue. Why?"**

"Because everyone has different colour ! Usually mens of same family have similar colour and likewise for women. So Carter inherited Blue from his father and Uncle ,before he became host of Set and Sadie inherited it from her mother." Walt explained.

 **"Maybe everyone has his own color," I suggested. "Maybe you'll get hot pink."**

 **"Very funny."**

 **"Come on, pink wizard," I said. "Inside we go."**

 **The library was so amazing, I almost forgot my dizziness. It was bigger than I'd imagined, a round chamber sunk deep into solid rock, like a giant well. This didn't make sense, as the mansion was sitting on top of a warehouse, but then again nothing else about the place was exactly normal.**

 **From the platform where we stood, a staircase descended three stories to the bottom floor. The walls, floor, and domed ceiling were all decorated with multicolored pictures of people, gods, and monsters. I'd seen such illustrations in Dad's books**

"Wait ! you read my books?" Julius asked hopefully.

 **(yes, all right, sometimes when I was in the Piccadilly bookshop I'd wander into the Egypt section and sneak a look at Dad's books, just to feel some connection to him, not because I wanted to read them)**

And his hope died a bitter death.

 **but the pictures in the books had always been faded and smudged. These in the library looked newly painted, making the entire room a work of art.**

" It's so beautiful!" Athena and Annabeth muttered." Man, why did we never thought of putting up a library in the camps." Jason asked. Everyone else shrugged.

 **"It's beautiful," I said.**

 **A blue starry sky glittered on the ceiling, but it wasn't a solid field of blue. Rather, the sky was painted in a strange swirling pattern. I realized it was shaped like a woman. She lay curled on her side—her body, arms, and legs dark blue and dotted with stars. Below, the library floor was done in a similar way, the green-and-brown earth shaped into a man's body, dotted with forests and hills and cities. A river snaked across his chest.**

 **The library had no books. Not even bookshelves. Instead, the walls were honeycombed with round cubbyholes, each one holding a sort of plastic cylinder.**

 **At each of the four compass points, a ceramic statue stood on a pedestal. The statues were half-size humans wearing kilts and sandals, with glossy black wedge-shaped haircuts and black eyeliner around their eyes.**

 **[Carter says the eyeliner stuff is called kohl, as if it matters.]**

"Of course, it matters." Athena said in a trance like voice.

 **At any rate, one statue held a stylus and scroll. Another held a box. Another held a short, hooked staff. The last was empty-handed.**

 **"Sadie." Carter pointed to the center of the room. Sitting on a long stone table was Dad's workbag.**

 **Carter started down the stairs, but I grabbed his arm. "Hang on. What about traps?"**

 **He frowned. "Traps?"**

" Why would there be traps in a library?" questioned Osiris.

 **"Didn't Egyptian tombs have traps?"**

" No-" "It is given dad, no need to repeat. Please!" Sadie added the please with cutest baby seal eyes and Julius obliged. Heck if it was against me even I would have obliged happily.

 **"Well...sometimes. But this isn't a tomb. Besides, more often they had curses, like the burning curse, the donkey curse—"**

 **"Oh, lovely. That sounds so much better."**

 **He trotted down the steps, which made me feel quite ridiculous, as I'm usually the one to forge ahead. But I supposed if someone had to get cursed with a burning skin rash or attacked by a magical donkey, it was better Carter than me.**

" In donkey curse no one gets attacked by a donkey, they get turned into a donkey Sadie!" Carter explained. Sadie made a face behind his back.

 **We made it to the middle of the room with no excitement. Carter opened the bag. Still no traps or curses. He brought out the strange box Dad had used in the British Museum.**

 **It was made of wood, and about the right size to hold a loaf of French bread. The lid was decorated much like the library, with gods and monsters and sideways-walking people.**

 **"How did the Egyptians move like that?" I wondered. "All sideways with their arms and legs out. It seems quite silly."**

Athena gave Sadie you're idiot and you know it look. She ignored.

 **Carter gave me one of his God, you're stupid looks. "They didn't walk like that in real life, Sadie."**

 **"Well, why are they painted like that, then?"**

 **"They thought paintings were like magic. If you painted yourself, you had to show all your arms and legs. Otherwise, in the afterlife you might be reborn without all your pieces."**

" Seriously, then why were they painted with sideway faces ?" Leo asked. " The next question."

 **"Then why the sideways faces? They never look straight at you. Doesn't that mean they'll lose the other side of their face?"**

"good one!" Leo clapped.

 **Carter hesitated. "I think they were afraid the picture would be too human if it was looking right at you. It might try to become you."**

 **"So is there anything they weren't afraid of?"**

 **"Little sisters," Carter said. "If they talked too much, the Egyptians threw them to the crocodiles."**

The whole room was silent for an entire minute then everyone erupted with fits of laughter. " Bravo way to silent sisters!" Jason , Nico and I clapped only to get hit by the said sisters.

 **He had me for a second. I wasn't used to him displaying a sense of humor. Then I punched him. "Just open the bloody box."**

 **The first thing he pulled out was a lump of white gunk.** **"Wax," Carter pronounced.** **"Fascinating." I picked up a wooden stylus and a palette with small indentations in its surface for ink, then a few glass jars of the ink itself—black, red, and gold. "And a prehistoric painting set."** **Carter pulled out several lengths of brown twine, a small ebony cat statue, and a thick roll of paper. No, not paper. Papyrus. I remembered Dad explaining how the Egyptians made it from a river plant because they never invented paper. The stuff was so thick and rough, it made me wonder if the poor Egyptians had had to use toilet papyrus. If so, no wonder they walked sideways.**

The bouts of laughter which had died down began again. Many of us fell off the throne chuckling. "Sadie you have an exquisite sense of humor. " I said in between my fits.

 **Finally I pulled out a wax figurine.** **"Ew," I said.** **He was a tiny man, crudely fashioned, as if the maker had been in a hurry. His arms were crossed over his chest, his mouth was open, and his legs were cut off at the knees. A lock of human hair was wrapped round his waist.**

"Now even I have to agree. Eww." Aphrodite wrinkled her nose. Osiris smiled secretly.

 **Muffin jumped on the table and sniffed the little man. She seemed to think him quite interesting.** **"There's nothing here," Carter said.** **"What do you want?" I asked. "We've got wax, some toilet papyrus, an ugly statue—"**

Some laughed at toilet papyrus comment.

 **"Something to explain what happened to Dad. How do we get him back? Who was that fiery man he summoned?"** **I held up the wax man. "You heard him, warty little troll. Tell us what you know."**

" Why didn't you name him that Warty little troll. W-roll. " Hermes said. " Where will little come in W-roll?" " Oh I have a better name Wall-roll. WA from Warty, LL the two Ls of little and ROLL from Troll. " " Awesome, we will call him Wall-Roll." The stoll siblings decided. The entire time Sadie and Carter were laughing so hard , their stomach would be aching.

 **I was just messing about. But the wax man became soft and warm like flesh. He said, "I answer the call."** **I screamed and dropped him on his tiny head. Well, can you blame me?**

" You dropped a tiny man on his head. How cruel. " Hestia admonished her jokingly.

 **"Ow!" he said.** **Muffin came over to have a sniff, and the little man started cursing in another language, possibly Ancient Egyptian. When that didn't work, he screeched in English: "Go away! I'm not a mouse!"** **I scooped up Muffin and put her on the floor.** **Carter's face had gone as soft and waxy as the little man's. "What are you?" he asked.** **"I'm a shabti, of course!" The figurine rubbed his dented head. He still looked quite lumpish, only now he was a living lump. "Master calls me Doughboy, though I find the name insulting. You may call me Supreme-Force-Who-Crushes-His-Enemies!"**

"SHWCHE, Na Doughboy is a better name." Chris replied.

 **"All right, Doughboy," I said.** **He scowled at me, I think, though it was hard to tell with his mashed-up face.** **"You weren't supposed to trigger me! Only the master does that."** **"The master, meaning Dad," I guessed. "Er, Julius Kane?"** **"That's him," Doughboy grumbled. "Are we done yet? Have I fulfilled my service?"** **Carter stared at me blankly, but I thought I was beginning to understand.** **"So, Doughboy," I told the lump. "You were triggered when I picked you up and gave you a direct order: Tell us what you know. Is that correct?"** **Doughboy crossed his stubby arms. "You're just toying with me now. Of course that's correct. Only the master is supposed to be able to trigger me, by the way. I don't know how you did it, but he'll blast you to pieces when he finds out."**

" Na I won't. They are my kids ,after all."

 **Carter cleared his throat. "Doughboy, the master is our dad, and he's missing. He's been magically sent away somehow and we need your help—"** **"Master is gone?" Doughboy smiled so widely, I thought his wax face would split open. "Free at last! See you, suckers!"** **He lunged for the end of the table but forgot he had no feet. He landed on his face, then began crawling toward the edge, dragging himself with his hands. "Free! Free!"** **He fell off the table and onto the floor with a thud, but that didn't seem to discourage him. "Free! Free!"**

" That lump of wax has quite an enthusiam." Hera was amused. _Sadist._

 **He made it another centimeter or two before I picked him up and threw him in Dad's magic box. Doughboy tried to get out, but the box was just tall enough that he couldn't reach the rim. I wondered if it had been designed that way.** **"Trapped!" he wailed. "Trapped!"**

" Ohhh, poor lump of wax... I mean poor Doughboy !" Dementer wailed laughingly.

 **"Oh, shut up," I told him. "I'm the mistress now. And you'll answer my questions."** **Carter raised his eyebrow. "How come you get to be in charge?"** **"Because I was smart enough to activate him."** **"You were just joking around!"** **I ignored my brother, which is one of my many talents. "Now, Doughboy, first off, what's a shabti?"** **"Will you let me out of the box if I tell you?"** **"You have to tell me," I pointed out. "And no, I won't."** **He sighed. "Shabti means answerer, as even the stupidest slave could tell you."**

"We were not slaves. So we didn't knew what Sabti was!" Sadie pointed out.

 **Carter snapped his fingers. "I remember now! The Egyptians made models out of wax or clay—servants to do every kind of job they could imagine in the afterlife. They were supposed to come to life when their master called, so the deceased person could, like, kick back and relax and let the shabti do all his work for eternity."** **"First," Doughboy snipped, "that is typical of humans! Lazing around while we do all the work. Second, afterlife work is only one function of shabti.**

"In that case , I would like to order some shabti for my palace too." Hades asked. " Sure , I could ask some of my helpers to help in your palace too. " Osiris nodded. They both shook hand as if they were signing a deal.

 **We are also used by magicians for a great number of things in this life, because magicians would be total incompetents without us.**

"Uhu. Don't listen to him. He became a magicam coat in the end. " Carter waved him off.

 **Third, if you know so much, why are you asking me?"**

" Good question? That Shabti is a smart one."

 **"Why did Dad cut off your legs," I wondered, "and leave you with a mouth?"**

" Sadie is on move!" Hermes replied. " Sadie is always on a move. And that move is to annoy the heck out of the person next to her. " Walt replied.

 **"I—" Doughboy clapped his little hands over his mouth. "Oh, very funny. Threaten the wax statue. Big bully! He cut my legs off so I wouldn't run away or come to life in perfect form and try to kill him, naturally. Magicians are very mean. They maim statues to control them. They are afraid of us!"**

" Julius that was very bad thing to do." Hestia chided, " specially in front of your kids."

 **\--xx--**

 **A/N Ok ,I really wanted to finish this chapter but it is sooo long. So it broke in parts.**

 **Lastly sorry, For late update. But I had some chores yesterday. So baer this time. Next Update on next Sunday!**


	20. CHAP18 DROP A LITTLE MAN ON HIS HEAD pt2

**A/N Ok this part two of** **I drop a** **little man on his head. Hope you enjoy!**

 **\--xx--**

 **Chapter** **18 I Drop A Little Man On His Head part 2**

 **Artemis's pov.**

Apollo continued.

 **"Would you come to life and try to kill him, had he made you perfectly?" "Probably," Doughboy admitted.**

Smile vanished from Hestia's face. "Well at least ,he admits the truth!" Ruby tried to cheer her up. Damn, If only we would have met before she got married , she would have been a hunteress. An excellent one at that. But no worries, his daughter is one step further than her. Full of Sass and energy. She is like female version of Percy. Well more like younger Percy. Poor Percy ,The pit has taken so much toll on him. Others may not notice but I have how much sad and depressed he is these days. And I noticed it just because he is the only male demigod I approve of. _And not because he is also the handsomest one. And that there is a virgin goddess crushing on him._

Ok ,I have to admit I may have tini-tinycrush on him, but it doesn't matter. I am a virgin goddess, goddess of hunt. And he is a mortal. Who are born to die one day. Ugh.. When did _my_ thought became depressing. _Wver since you saw him fall down in the Pit._ Replies my conscience.

Apollo nudges me taking me out of my brain.

 **"Are we done?""Not by half," I said. "What happened to our dad?"Doughboy shrugged. "How should I know? But I see his wand and staff aren't in the box."**

 **"No," Carter said. "The staff—the thing that turned into a snake—it got incinerated. And the wand...is that the boomerang thing?""The boomerang thing?" Doughboy said. "Gods of Eternal Egypt, you're dense. Of course that's his wand."**

 **"It got shattered," I said."Tell me how," Doughboy demanded.**

 **Carter told him the story. I wasn't sure that was the best idea, but I supposed a ten-centimeter-tall statue couldn't do us that much harm.**

" Well ,he can bore you to death ?" Reyna suggested. " Till then we would already tape his mouth. Duh !"

 **"This is wonderful!" Doughboy cried."Why?" I asked. "Is Dad still alive?""No!" Doughboy said. "He's almost certainly dead. The five gods of the Demon Days released? Wonderful! And anyone who duels with the Red Lord—""Wait," I said. "I order you to tell me what happened.""Ha!" Doughboy said. "I only have to tell you what I know. Making educated guesses is a completely different task. I declare my service fulfilled!"**

" That thing is so annoying!" Drew huffed. Never liked Aphrodite's current daughters other than Piper.

 **With that, he turned back to lifeless wax."Wait!" I picked him up again and shook him. "Tell me your educated guesses!"Nothing happened."Maybe he's got a timer," Carter said. "Like only once a day. Or maybe you broke him."**

" No , There are no timers in Shabti. Sadie could have broken him, but it didn't happen. Doughboy just loves to find easy way out of his tasks. " Julius told Carter. Not that it mattered. I am no fan of Egyptian mythology like several gods or their goddesses like my brothers , Athena and Hera. I am much more interested in the girls I could ask to become huntresses.

 **"Carter, make a helpful suggestion! What do we do now?"He looked at the four ceramic statues on their pedestals. "Maybe—""Other shabti?""Worth a shot."If the statues were answerers, they weren't very good at it.**

" You must be doing them the wrong way!" Zia commented. Zia can be a good huntress but she must be knowing about us as she looked wary of Thalia and I when we introduced and asked Sadie for a talk.

 **We tried holding them while giving them orders, though they were quite heavy. We tried pointing at them and shouting. We tried asking nicely. They gave us no answers at all.**

"Told you !" Zia smirked.

 **I grew so frustrated I wanted to ha-di them into a million pieces, but I was still so hungry and tired, I had the feeling that spell would not be good for my health.**

 **Finally we decided to check the cubbyholes round the walls. The plastic cylinders were the kind you might find at a drive-through bank—the kind that shoot up and down the pneumatic tubes. Inside each case was a papyrus scroll. Some looked new. Some looked thousands of years old. Each canister was labeled in hieroglyphs and (fortunately) in English."The Book of the Heavenly Cow," Carter read on one. "What kind of name is that?**

" It is devoted to Hathor, My wife. Her sacred animal is cow." Horus nodded " Oh that was very nice of you , not bringing your _own_ wife to such important discussions. " Hera commented in a restrained voice.

 **What've you got, The Heavenly Badger?"**

 **"No," I said. "The Book of Slaying Apophis."**

All the magicians shivered and the room darkened some. _Seems like he is match of our grandfather and great grandmother._ The funniest reaction was of Bast. her hair puffed out looking like a frying pan.

 **Muffin meowed in the corner. When I looked over, her tail was puffed up."What's wrong with her?" I asked."Apophis was a giant snake monster," Carter muttered. "He was bad news."**

 **Muffin turned and raced up the stairs, back into the Great Room. Cats. No accounting for them.**

Bast huffed. _Someone doesn't like it when their minions are shown in bad light._

 **Carter opened another scroll. "Sadie, look at this."He'd found a papyrus that was quite long, and most of the text on it seemed to be lines of hieroglyphs."Can you read any of this?" Carter asked.**

 **I frowned at the writing, and the odd thing was, I couldn't read it—except for one line at the top. "Only that bit where the title should be. It says...Blood of the Great House. What does that mean?"**

" What is blood of great house?" Athena asked Julius. _Oh my lovesick sister!_ He gestured her towards the book.

 **"Great house," Carter mused. "What do the words sound like in Egyptian?""Per-roh. Oh, it's pharaoh, isn't it? But I thought a pharaoh was a king?""It is," Carter said. "The word literally means 'great house,' like the king's mansion. Sort of like referring to the president as 'the White House.'**

" Ahh, So it is like referring Dad to Olympus !" Hermes nodded. Dad sent him a glare.Go _for it Daddy!_

 **So here it probably means more like Blood of the Pharaohs, all of them, the whole lineage of all the dynasties, not just one guy."**

 **"So why do I care about the pharaohs' blood, and why can't I read any of the rest?"Carter stared at the lines. Suddenly his eyes widened. "They're names. Look, they're all written inside cartouches.""Excuse me?" I asked, because cartouche sounded** **like a rather rude word, and I pride myself on knowing those.**

Julius and Ruby stared hard at Sadie but I couldn't help look amused at her. _She will make a really good huntress._

 **"The circles," Carter explained. "They symbolize magic ropes. They're supposed to protect the holder of the name from evil magic." He eyed me. "And possibly also from other magicians reading their names."**

 **"Oh, you're mental," I said. But I looked at the lines, and saw what he meant. All the other words were protected by cartouches, and I couldn't make sense of them.**

"Hah! Now ,who is mental!" Carter retorted. Sadie simply ignored him.

 **"Sadie," Carter said, his voice urgent. He pointed to a cartouche at the very end of the list—the last entry in what looked to be a catalogue of thousands.**

 **Inside the circle were two simple symbols, a basket and a wave.**

 **"KN," Carter announced. "I know this one. It's our name, KANE."**

 **"Missing a few letters, isn't it?"**

"How do you know? The Vowels are missing." Piper asked.

 **Carter shook his head. "Egyptians usually didn't write vowels. Only consonants. You have to figure out the vowel sounds from context."**

 **"They really were nutters. So that could be KON or IKON or KNEE or AKNE."**

" Who has surnames Ikon and Knee? Heck what person would like his name Charles Akne or Bailey Kon ? They sound nutter."" Oh they were just examples." Sadie hid her face in her palms.

 **"It could be," Carter agreed.**

" Carter were you sick! How could you agree to that. " " I just agreed to her on the fact that they could be another person's surnames too with consonents KN not to the fact that anyone has surname Ikon. Ok!"

 **"But it's our name, Kane. I asked Dad to write it for me in hieroglyphs once, and that's how he did it. But why are we in this list? And what is 'blood of the pharaohs'?"**

 **That icy tingle started on the back of my neck. I remembered what Amos had said, about both sides of our family being very ancient. Carter's eyes met mine, and judging from his expression, he was having the same thought.**

 **"There's no way," I protested.**

 **"Must be some kind of joke," he agreed. "Nobody keeps family records that far back."**

" We do ! Because we are nutters!" Walt replied.

 **I swallowed, my throat suddenly very dry. So many odd things had happened to us in the last day, but it was only when I saw our name in that book that I finally began to believe all this mad Egyptian stuff was real. Gods, magicians, monsters...and our family was tied into it.**

 **Ever since breakfast, when it occurred to me that Dad had been trying to bring Mum back from the dead, a horrible emotion had been trying to take hold of me. And it wasn't dread. Yes, the whole idea was creepy, much creepier than the shrine my grandparents kept in the hall cupboard to my dead mother.**

" My parents love to live in the past." Ruby sighed.

 **And yes, I told you I try not to live in the past and nothing could change the fact that my mum was gone. But I'm a liar. The truth was, I'd had one dream ever since I was six: to see my mum again. To actually get to know her, talk to her, go shopping, do anything. Just be with her once so I could have a better memory to hold on to. The feeling I was trying to shake was hope. I knew I was setting myself up for colossal hurt. But if it really were possible to bring her back, then I would've blown up any number of Rosetta Stones to make it happen.**

" Well you did break tons of museum stuff. So no loss there!" Carter replied trying to lighten the situation. What nobody else noticed was Sadie leaning towards her brother and he putting an arm on her shoulder. It almost made me guilty for my plan to ask her to join my huntresses. _Almost._

 **"Let's keep looking," I said.**

 **After a few more minutes, I found a picture of some of animal-headed gods, five in a row, with a starry woman figure arching over them protectively like an umbrella. Dad had released five gods. Hmm.**

"You are on right path ,sweety! " Julius nodded.

 **"Carter," I called. "What's this, then?"**

 **He came to have a look and his eyes lit up.**

 **"That's it!" he announced. "These five...and up here, their mother, Nut."**

The Greek gods laughed at that. " You have a goddess named Nut? What is her last name cracker. " Most of them looked annoyed. Osiris was keeping his face deviod of any emotion while Bast smirked at Sadie.

 **I laughed. "A goddess named Nut? Is her last name Case?"**

 **"Very funny," Carter said. "She was the goddess of the sky."**

 **He pointed to the painted ceiling—the lady with the blue star-spangled skin, same as in the scroll.**

" I have met her!" Sadie replied with pride.

 **"So what about her?" I asked.**

 **Carter knit his eyebrows. "Something about the Demon Days. It had to do with the birth of these five gods, but it's been a long time since Dad told me the story.**

"Excellent ,Kids. You are on right track. If you stick to it and fight less ,you will definately reach you goals" Julius beamed at his children making them blush. _So that is their weakness. They are strong seperately but stronger together_

 **This whole scroll is written in hieratic, I think. That's like hieroglyph cursive. Can you read it?"**

 **I shook my head. Apparently, my particular brand of insanity only applied to regular hieroglyphs.**

" It is more like boon than insanity! " Annabeth admonished while Percy joked ,behind her back, " It is insanity which will eat you brain in no time." I stifled a chuckle.

 **"I wish I could find the story in English," Carter said.**

 **Just then there was a cracking noise behind us. The empty-handed clay statue hopped off his pedestal and marched towards us. Carter and I scrambled to get out of his way, but he walked straight past us, grabbed a cylinder from its cubbyhole and brought it to Carter.**

" You have a clay librarian. Omg ,Please provide me too with some Shabti." Athena asked the magicians. " Sure! So Lord Hades want a set of Shabti and so does Lady Athena. We will discuss how many and for what activities later in the break. Ok!" Walt asked. They both nodded.

 **"It's a retrieval shabti," I said. "A clay librarian!"**

 **Carter swallowed nervously and took the cylinder. "Um...thanks."**

 **The statue marched back to his pedestal, jumped on, and hardened again into regular clay.**

 **"I wonder..." I faced the shabti. "Sandwich and chips, please!"**

 **Sadly, none of the statues jumped down to serve me. Perhaps food wasn't allowed in the library.**

" Awww. That is so wrong. You should totally make some Shabti who can serve and cook too." Leo suggested. "Leo ,don't give this one any ideas. " Carter warned pointing at Sadie who winked in reply to Leo. _If she joins the huntresses ,I would have to keep an eye on her and her pranks._

 **Carter uncapped the cylinder and unrolled the papyrus. He sighed with relief. "This version is in English."**

 **As he scanned the text, his frown got deeper.**

 **"You don't look happy," I noticed.**

 **"Because I remember the story now. The five gods...if Dad really released them, it isn't good news."**

"Hey!" Set ,Nypthys, Isis and Horus exclaimed. " Who is the fifth one?" I asked. " The one inside me!" Julius replied. _Ohh._ Athena sent me a glare.

 **"Hang on," I said. "Start from the beginning."**

 **Carter took a shaky breath. "Okay. So the sky goddess, Nut, was married to the earth god, Geb."**

" I have met him too. ""Tell one god/goddess you haven't met?" Asked Apollo annoyed at being disturbed from reading. "Now that I think about it have met most of them." Sadie nodded thoughtfully. " I have met them all ,being a king and host of Horus, you know." Carter added.

 **"That would be this chap on the floor?" I tapped my foot on the big green man with the river and hills and forests all over his body.**

 **"Right," Carter said. "Anyway, Geb and Nut wanted to have kids, but the king of the gods, Ra—he was the sun god—heard this bad prophecy that a child of Nut—"**

"Child of nut!" All the Greek gods chuckled.

 **"Child of Nut," I snickered. "Sorry, go on."**

 **"—a child of Geb and Nut would one day replace Ra as king. So when Ra learned that Nut was pregnant, Ra freaked out. He forbade Nut to give birth to her children on any day or night of the year."**

" That is despicable -" Hera began, only to cut off by my brother" says the woman who didn't allowed another woman to give birth on the land!" Hera quited down but showed her fury by glaring at everyone. _Nice try Hera. Not even demigods are scared of you anymore._ I thought rolling my eyes.

 **I crossed my arms. "So what, she had to stay pregnant forever? That's awfully mean."**

 **Carter shook his head. "Nut figured out a way. She set up a game of dice with the moon god, Khons.**

Sadie and Carter glared the book so hard It might have started to burn. Bes covered his smile with a cough.

 **Every time Khons lost, he had to give Nut some of his moonlight. He lost so many times, Nut won enough moonlight to create five new days and tag them on to the end of the year."**

 **"Oh, please," I said. "First, how can you gamble moonlight? And if you did, how could you make extra days out of it?"**

"They are gods. They can do anything!" Reyna replied.

 **"It's a story!" Carter protested. "Anyway, the Egyptian calendar had three hundred and sixty days in the year, just like the three hundred and sixty degrees in a circle. Nut created five days and added them to the end of the year—days that were not part of the regular year."**

 **"The Demon Days," I guessed. "So the myth explains why a year has three hundred and sixty-five days. And I suppose she had her children—"**

 **"During those five days," Carter agreed. "One kid per day."**

 **"Again, how do you have five children in a row, each on a different day?"**

 **"They're gods," Carter said. "They can do stuff like that."**

"That doesn't make it sound less weird." Percy * _sigh_ * commented.

 **"Makes as much sense as the name Nut. But please, go on."**

 **"So when Ra found out, he was furious, but it was too late. The children were already born. Their names were Osiris—"**

 **"The one Dad was after."**

 **"Then Horus, Set, Isis, and, um..." Carter consulted his scroll. "Nephthys. I always forget that one."**

" I can't forget that one. As she protected Zia." Carter had a dreamy smile on his face as Zia blushed and Sadie gagged.

 **"And the fiery man in the museum said, you have released all five."**

 **"Exactly. What if they were imprisoned together and Dad didn't realize it? They were born together, so maybe they had to be summoned back into the world together. The thing is, one of these guys, Set, was a really bad dude. Like, the villain of Egyptian mythology. The god of evil and chaos and desert storms."**

" Yep! Handsome and smart villain." Set smirked winking at me. Apollo shot him a death stare.

 **I shivered. "Did he perhaps have something to do with fire?"**

 **Carter pointed to one of the figures in the picture. The god had an animal head, but I couldn't quite make out which sort of animal: Dog? Anteater? Evil bunny rabbit? Whichever it was, his hair and his clothes were bright red.**

" Evil bunny rabbit!" ,Set shouted outraged as everyone else stifled their snicker," Does my dangerous and ferocious Set animal looks like a bunny?"

 **"The Red Lord," I said.**

 **"Sadie, there's more," Carter said. "Those five days—the Demon Days—were bad luck in Ancient Egypt. You had to be careful, wear good luck charms, and not do anything important or dangerous on those days. And in the British Museum, Dad told Set: They'll stop you before the Demon Days are over."**

 **"Surely you don't think he meant us," I said. "We're supposed to stop this Set character?"**

Set was still grumbling about his set animal to notice how Sadie had made fun of her.

 **Carter nodded. "And if the last five days of our calendar year still count as the Egyptian Demon Days—they'd start on December 27, the day after tomorrow."**

 **The shabti seemed to be staring at me expectantly, but I had not the slightest idea what to do. Demon Days and evil bunny gods**

Everyone couldn't help but snicker.

 **—if I heard one more impossible thing, my head would explode.**

 **And the worst of it? The little insistent voice in the back of my head saying: It's not impossible. To save Dad, we must defeat Set.**

 **As if that had been on my to-do list for Christmas hols. See Dad—check. Develop strange powers—check. Defeat an evil god of chaos—check. The whole idea was mad!**

" No,The whole idea is not crazy." Percy replied calmly. " Exactly!" Isis agreed.with him.Knowing _him, he is going yo throw a good one!_ " We live in a world filled with gods who are way over int heir heads. People who wish to kill no matter we their friends or foe. This is the world of mythology, where myths are as real as a sky is blue. Welcome to this world Sadie and Carter Kane!" Percy ended with a grand gesture as if he was welcoming them to a five star resort. The gods couldn't help blush at his comment while demigods and Magicians laughed at that. Even Chiron had a smile.

 **Suddenly there was a loud crash, as if something had broken in the Great Room. Khufu began barking in alarm.**

"Holy Styx! What happened?" Everyone was on their seat edge at the sudden change of atmosphere. " Our life happened! " Sadie commented.

 **Carter and I locked eyes. Then we ran for the stairs.**

"And the end of the chapter! Now who is going to read?" Apollo asked.


	21. author's note 2

**Note**

 **Hello , I know you would be waiting for my updates on the stories but truth is I am soo busy these days what with my second year of the college in full bloom. I am and will not able to update the stories. Dont worry , I am not ditching it. My next update will be released by - lets see- by 11th August, it is Sunday. Hopefully, by then I will be able to adjust my college timetable with my own and create some space for the update writing. I am really sorry for wait but you know what they say Patience is the key element of success. Till then bye**


	22. Chap19 : Muffin plays with knives

**A/n Welcome back! Or more like welcome _me_ back! First week of college was like being in a war zone. But don't worry I am not going to tire you out by whinning about my problems. So _, drum roll please ,_ here come the much awaited chapter! * _hoot and claps*_ Hope you will like it**

 **\--xx--**

 **Chapter 19 : Muffin Plays with Knives**

 **Bast's pov**

Apollo asked for a reader and Lord Ra raised his hand. Most gods and even demigods looked surprised as till now Ra hadn't participated in the discussions. What they didn't know was the fact that Lord Ra was a primordial. His presence was enough to ensure his participation.

I think that might be the reason for his attendence. He had a soothing effect on not only humans but also on gods which will help everyone to remain calm even in conflicts.

 **Chapter 8. Muffin Plays with Knives**

This is definitely done by Sadie. No one dares to call me muffin.

 **OUR BABOON WAS GOING completely sky goddess—which is to say, nuts.**

" Nice way to include our mother's name in this chapter!" Isis commented sarcastically.

 **He swung from column to column, bouncing along the balconies, overturning pots and statues. Then he ran back to the terrace windows, stared outside for a moment, and proceeded to go berserk again.**

 **Muffin was also at the window. She crouched on all fours with her tail twitching as if she were stalking a bird.**

 **"Perhaps it's just a passing flamingo," I suggested hopefully, but I'm not sure Carter could hear me over the screaming baboon.**

" I could here you over a screaming baboon but I don't think a cat would like flamingo for dinner." Carter replied Sadie earning him glare in return.

 **We ran to the glass doors. At first I didn't see any problem. Then water exploded from the pool, and my heart nearly jumped out of my chest. Two enormous creatures, most definitely not flamingos, were thrashing about with our crocodile, Philip of Macedonia.**

Many people gasped. " Poor Crocodile!" Grover wailed.

 **I couldn't make out what they were, only that they were fighting Philip two against one. They disappeared under the boiling water, and Khufu ran screaming through the Great Room again, bonking himself on the head with his empty Cheerios box, which I must say was not particularly helpful.**

Causing some light chuckles around the room but tension remained.

 **"Longnecks," Carter said incredulously. "Sadie, did you see those things?"**

"Wait aren't those creatures of chaos, according to Egyptians?" No ome answered Annabeth.

 **I couldn't find an answer. Then one of the creatures was thrown out of the pool. It slammed into the doors right in front of us, and I jumped back in alarm. On the other side of the glass was the most terrifying animal I'd ever seen. Its body was like a leopard's—lean and sinewy, with golden spotted fur—but its neck was completely wrong. It was green and scaly and at least as long as the rest of its body. It had a cat's head, but no normal cat's. When it turned its glowing red eyes towards us, it howled, showing a forked tongue and fangs dripping with green venom.**

"Your descriptive power is excellent!" Set praised. " Much better than your brother, if I say so. " Sadie rolled her eyes at him.

 **I realized my legs were shaking and I was making a very undignified whimpering sound.**

" Well , I would have done worse , if I was in your position. " Grover said reassuringly.

 **The cat-serpent jumped back into the pool to join its companion in beating up Philip, who spun and snapped but seemed unable to hurt his attackers.**

 **"We have to help Philip!" I cried. "He'll be killed!"**

 **I reached for the door handle, but Muffin growled at me.**

" Sadie , No!" Ruby cried.

 **Carter said, "Sadie, no! You heard Amos. We can't open the doors for any reason. The house is protected by magic. Philip will have to beat them on his own."**

 **"But what if he can't? Philip!"**

 **The old crocodile turned. For a second his pink reptilian eye focused on me as if he could sense my concern. Then the cat-snakes bit at his underbelly and Philip rose up so that only the tip of his tail still touched the water. His body began to glow. A low hum filled the air, like an airplane engine starting up. When Philip came down, he slammed into the terrace with all his might.**

" Poor Philip!" Grover said burying his face in his hands. " Should we tell him that Philip is a shabti!" Walt asked Sadie worriedly. " Nah ,let him suffer. It will enhance his happiness to find that!" Sadie replied after some thinking. I hid my smile.

 **The entire house shook. Cracks appeared in the concrete terrace outside, and the swimming pool split right down the middle as the far end crumbled into empty space.**

 **"No!" I cried.**

 **But the edge of the terrace ripped free, plunging Philip and the monsters straight into the East River.**

Now Grover was crying lightly. Carter , feeling pity, rose and gave a pat on Grover's back. " Geez Grover, don't worry. Philip is a shabti." It caused everyone to pause and look at them. Sadie lightly groaned at loss of fun while Grover himself tackled Carter in a bear hug and a ' Why didn't you say so!' Carter cringed and pried him off. " Don't do that. Or I will not warn you for future events. " Grover nodded and

sat bavk in his seat.

 **My whole body began to tremble. "He sacrificed himself. He killed the monsters."**

 **"Sadie..." Carter's voice was faint. "What if he didn't? What if they come back?"**

 **"Don't say that!"**

 **"I—I recognized them, Sadie. Those creatures. Come on."**

 **"Where?" I demanded, but he ran straight back to the library.**

 **Carter marched up to the shabti who'd helped us before. "Bring me the...gah, what's it called?"**

 **"What?" I asked.**

"Narmer pallet" Julius said.

 **"Something Dad showed me. It's a big stone plate or something. Had a picture of the first pharaoh, the guy who united Upper and Lower Egypt into one kingdom. His name..." His eyes lit up. "Narmer! Bring me the Narmer Plate!"**

 **Nothing happened.**

 **"No," Carter decided. "Not a plate. It was...one of those things that holds paint. A palette. Bring me the Narmer Palette!"**

He nodded proudly.

 **The empty-handed shabti didn't move, but across the room, the statue with the little hook came to life. He jumped off his pedestal and disappeared in a cloud of dust. A heartbeat later, he reappeared on the table. At his feet was a wedge of flat gray stone, shaped like a shield and about as long as my forearm.**

" Did he just brought an ancient artefact from like ither side of the world!" Athena looked awed.

 **"No!" Carter protested. "I meant a picture of it! Oh great, I think this is the real artifact. The shabti must've stolen it from the Cairo Museum. We've got to return—"**

 **"Hang on," I said. "We might as well have a look."**

 **The surface of the stone was carved with the picture of a man smashing another man in the face with what looked like a spoon.**

"He ruled with a spoon!" Stoll brothers laughed.

 **"That's Narmer with the spoon," I guessed. "Angry because the other bloke stole his breakfast cereal?"**

It caused several other demigods and greek gods to laugh hysterically.

 **Carter shook his head. "He's conquering his enemies and uniting Egypt. See his hat? That's the crown of Lower Egypt, before the two countries united."**

 **"The bit that looks like a bowling pin?"**

And the rest of us joined in. I have to say Sadie has a great sense of humor.

 **"You're impossible," Carter grumbled.**

 **"He looks like Dad, doesn't he?"**

"Of course , he does. Narmer was his ancestor." I commented. " You belong to Narmer's family?" Zeus asked Julius. He nodded in reply.

 **"Sadie, be serious!"**

 **"I am serious. Look at his profile."**

 **Carter decided to ignore me. He examined the stone like he was afraid to touch it. "I need to see the back but I don't want to turn it over. We might damage—"**

 **I grabbed the stone and flipped it over.**

"Nooo! YOU COULD HAVE BROKEN IT!" Athena wailed. " Well ,that is why mending spells are for!" Ruby replied causing Sadie and Carter to bust in chuckles.

 **"Sadie! You could've broken it!"**

 **"That's what mend spells are for, yes?"**

Ruby blushed at that.

 **We examined the back of the stone, and I had to admit I was impressed by Carter's memory. Two cat-snake monsters stood in the center of the palette, their necks entwined. On either side, Egyptian men with ropes were trying to capture the creatures.**

 **"They're called serpopards," Carter said. "Serpent leopards."**

 **"Fascinating," I said. "But what are serpopards?"**

 **"No one knows exactly. Dad thought they were creatures of chaos—very bad news, and they've been around forever. This stone is one of the oldest artifacts from Egypt. Those pictures were carved five thousand years ago."**

 **"So why are five-thousand-year-old monsters attacking our house?"**

 **"Last night, in Phoenix, the fiery man ordered his servants to capture us. He said to send the longnecks first."**

Silence filled the room. Everyone was eager to know more.

 **I had a metallic taste in my mouth, and I wished I hadn't chewed my last piece of gum. "Well...good thing they're at the bottom of the East River."**

"You jinxed it!" Apollo cringed.

 **Just then Khufu rushed into the library, screaming and slapping his head.**

 **"Suppose I shouldn't have said that," I muttered.**

"No you shouldn't !" Hermes nodded.

 **Carter told the shabti to return the Narmer Palette, and both statue and stone disappeared. Then we followed the baboon upstairs.**

 **The serpopards were back, their fur wet and slimy from the river, and they weren't happy. They prowled the broken ledge of the terrace, their snake necks whipping round as they sniffed the doors, looking for a way in. They spit poison that steamed and bubbled on the glass. Their forked tongues darted in and out.**

Julius and Ruby looked worried for their kids.

 **"Agh, agh!" Khufu picked up Muffin, who was sitting on the sofa, and offered me the cat.**

 **"I really don't think that will help," I told him.**

 **"AGH!" Khufu insisted.**

 **Neither Muffin nor cat ended in -o, so I guessed Khufu was not trying to offer me a snack, but I didn't know what he was on about. I took the cat just to shut him up.**

No one laughed at that.

 **"Mrow?" Muffin looked up at me.**

 **"It'll be all right," I promised, trying not to sound scared out of my mind. "The house is protected by magic."**

 **"Sadie," Carter said. "They've found something."**

 **The serpopards had converged at the left-hand door and were intently sniffing the handle.**

 **"Isn't it locked?" I asked.**

 **Both monsters smashed their ugly faces against the glass. The door shuddered. Blue hieroglyphs glowed along the doorframe, but their light was faint.**

 **"I don't like this," Carter murmured.**

"Neither do I!" Drew squeaked.

 **I prayed that the monsters would give up. Or that perhaps Philip of Macedonia would climb back to the terrace (do crocodiles climb?) and renew the fight.**

"I doubt that crocs , shabti or not, can climb. But still it will be an interesting topic to reaserch." Throth said writing it in a notepad.

 **Instead, the monsters smashed their heads against the glass again. This time a web of cracks appeared. The blue hieroglyphs flickered and died.**

 **"AGH!" Khufu screamed. He waved his hand vaguely at the cat.**

 **"Maybe if I try the ha-di spell," I said.**

 **Carter shook his head. "You almost fainted after you blew up those doors. I don't want you passing out, or worse."**

 **Carter once again surprised me. He tugged a strange sword from one of Amos's wall displays. The blade had an odd crescent-moon curve and looked horribly impractical.**

"It is called Khopesh,Sadie. " Carter told her rubbing his forehead.

 **"You can't be serious," I said.**

 **"Unless—unless you've got a better idea," he stammered, his face beading with perspiration. "It's me, you, and the baboon against those things."**

 **I'm sure Carter was trying to be brave in his own extremely unbrave way, but he was shaking worse than I was. If anyone was going to pass out, I feared it would be him, and I didn't fancy him doing that while holding a sharp object.**

"Geez!Thanks for the confidence!"

 **Then the serpopards struck a third time, and the door shattered. We backed up to the foot of Thoth's statue as the creatures stalked into the great room. Khufu threw his basketball, which bounced harmlessly off the first monster's head. Then he launched himself at the serpopard.**

 **"Khufu, don't!" Carter yelled.**

 **But the baboon sank his fangs into the monster's neck. The serpopard lashed around, trying to bite him. Khufu leaped off, but the monster was quick. It used its head like a bat and smacked poor Khufu in midair, sending him straight through the shattered door, over the broken terrace, and into the void.**

"Please tell me,Khufu is a Shabti too." Grover winced. "No he is not. But baboons also have their own brand of magic. So he is safe. " Hrover sighed in relief then perked up," Did you just say Baboons are also magicians?" " Don't mmake us regret telling that to you , Grover." Sadie said sternly making him nod.

 **I wanted to sob, but there wasn't time. The serpopards came toward us. We couldn't outrun them. Carter raised his sword. I pointed my hand at the first monster and tried to speak the ha-di spell, but my voice stuck in my throat.**

 **"Mrow!" Muffin said, more insistently. Why was the cat still nestled in my arm and not running away in terror?**

 **Then I remembered something Amos had said: Muffin will protect you. Was that what Khufu had been trying to remind me? It seemed impossible, but I stammered, "M-muffin, I order you to protect us."**

 **I tossed her on the floor. Just for a moment, the silver pendant on her collar seemed to gleam. Then the cat arched her back leisurely, sat down, and began licking a front paw. Well, really, what was I expecting—heroics?**

 **The two red-eyed monsters bared their fangs. They raised their heads and prepared to strike—and an explosion of dry air blasted through the room. It was so powerful, it knocked Carter and me to the floor. The serpopards stumbled and backed away.**

"Awesome so the cat had a bomb attached to her?" Leo shouted.

 **I staggered to my feet and realized that the center of the blast had been Muffin. My cat was no longer there. In her place was a woman—small and lithe like a gymnast. Her jet-black hair was tied in a ponytail. She wore a skintight leopard-skin jumpsuit and Muffin's pendant around her neck.**

"Wait ,what!" The greek shouted surprised. I was having the time of my life.

 **She turned and grinned at me, and her eyes were still Muffin's—yellow with black feline pupils. "About time," she chided.**

 **The serpopards got over their shock and charged the cat woman.**

I like it _Cat woman._ It has a certain ring on it.

 **Their heads struck with lightning speed. They should've ripped her in two, but the cat lady leaped straight up, flipping three times, and landed above them, perched on the mantel.**

 **She flexed her wrists, and two enormous knives shot from her sleeves into her hands. "A-a-ah, fun!"**

 **The monsters charged. She launched herself between them, dancing and dodging with incredible grace, letting them lash at her futilely while she threaded their necks together. When she stepped away, the serpopards were hopelessly intertwined. The more they struggled, the tighter the knots became. They trampled back and forth, knocking over furniture and roaring in frustration.**

 **"Poor things," the cat woman purred. "Let me help."**

 **Her knives flashed, and the two monsters' heads thudded to the floor at her feet. Their bodies collapsed and dissolved into enormous piles of sand.**

Greeks were looking in awe.

 **"So much for my playthings," the woman said sadly. "From sand they come, and to sand they return."**

 **She turned towards us, and the knives shot back into her sleeves. "Carter, Sadie, we should leave. Worse will be coming."**

 **Carter made a choking sound. "Worse? Who—how—what—"**

 **"All in good time." The woman stretched her arms above her head with great satisfaction. "So good to be in human form again! Now, Sadie, can you open us a door through the Duat, please?"**

"How do you open a door in Duat? It is so confusing!" Piper asked in frustation.

 **I blinked. "Um...no. I mean—I don't know how."**

 **The woman narrowed her eyes, clearly disappointed. "Shame. We'll need more power, then. An obelisk."**

 **"But that's in London," I protested. "We can't—"**

 **"There's a nearer one in Central Park. I try to avoid Manhattan, but this is an emergency. We'll just pop over and open a portal."**

 **"A portal to where?" I demanded. "Who are you, and why are you my cat?"**

 **The woman smiled. "For now, we just want a portal out of danger. As for my name, it's not Muffin, thank you very much. It's—"**

 **"Bast," Carter interrupted. "Your pendant—it's the symbol of Bast, goddess of cats. I thought it was just decoration but...that's you, isn't it?"**

 **"Very good, Carter," Bast said. "Now come, while we can still make it out of here alive."**

"Oh my gods! You got help from a god."" That to turned out to be Bast."" That was some awesome fight scenes Bast!" Apollo, Hermes and Ares shouted. "I think they are in need of some food. Lunch?" Hestia nodded and led us to the dinning room.

 **\--xx--**

 **Heya, everyone. I know not that good chapter but I was busy the whole week. I promise next one will be better than this one after all this is the lunch then a chapter to read then a much awaited tour of 21st nome. And a villian to find. Hehehe, seems like ultimate test for our heroes is going to begin.**


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